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■  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 


^m^m       By  FREDERICK  A.  BISBEE 


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A  California  Pilgrimage- 


COLONNADE  OF  THE  PALACE  OP  ARTS 


A  California  Pilgrimage 


By 

Frederick  A.  Bisbee 

Author  of  "A  Summer  Flight" 


A  Souvenir 

of  the 

United  Universalist  Conventions 

Califoi'nia,    1915 


1915 

The  Murray  Press 

Boston 


Copyright,  1915 
By  Univehsalist  Publishing  House 


VAIL-BALLOU    COMPANY 
■INSHAMTON  AND  HEW  YORK 


9(l>tratian 


1822681 


PALM   IN   PASADENA 


PREFACE 

The  best  of  any  journey  we  may  take  comes  when  we 
are  home  again  thinking  it  over,  and  dreaming  it  over, 
and  talking  it  over  together,  with  something  sympathetic 
and  suggestive  to  jog  our  memories  into  activity.  That 
is  why  these  sketches  and  pictures  have  been  gathered 
into  this  little  souvenir  volume.  But  there  is  still  an- 
other reason,  perhaps  even  more  important.  There 
were  only  a  few  hundreds  of  us  who  went  to  California 
on  this  memorable  Pilgrimage ;  there  were  many  thou- 
sands who  wanted  to  go,  but  could  not,  and  so  wide- 
spread was,  and  is,  the  interest,  that  it  is  not  only  a 
pleasure  but  a  duty  to  share,  so  far  as  is  possible,  the 
riches  of  our  experience,  and  also  to  give  some  measure 
of  permanency  to  what  has  proved  to  be  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  significant  events  in  the  history  of  the 
Universalist  Church. 

The  audacity  of  the  proposition  to  take  our  Conven- 
tions to  the  Pacific  Coast,  at  first  shocked  and  then  chal- 
lenged our  people ;  we  were  not  accustomed  to  thinking 
in  large  figures,  and  to  many  it  appeared  a  dangerous 
if  not  an  impossible  enterprise.  The  large  sums  of 
money  necessary  to  transport  a  delegation  of  respectable 
numbers  and  meet  the  incidental  expenses,  seemed  to 
threaten  financial  wreck.  But  the  fears  were  ground- 
less. Through  careful  management  the  expenses  of  the 
executive  boards  of  our  four  National  Conventions  did 


PREFACE 

not  exceed  the  average  of  other  years.  More  money  was 
raised  for  missions  than  at  former  meetings  of  a  like 
nature,  the  impulse  given  to  missions  will  result  in  rec- 
ord-breaking contributions  in  the  months  to  come,  ami 
the  amount  of  missionary  work  actually  performed  in 
direct  connection  with  the  Pilgrimage  marks  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  era  of  missionary  achievement. 

The  purpose  of  this  record  is  to  show  the  personal  and 
social  side  rather  than  the  routine  of  business,  which 
has  had  its  own  publication,  but  it  is  well  to  say  of  this 
unique  meeting  of  our  Conventions: 

It  was  an  adventure  of  faith,  and  a  victory  of  faith. 

It  was  a  triumph  of  co-operation. 

It  was  a  revelation  of  our  Church  to  ourselves,  show- 
ing undreamed  of  capacities  and  resources. 

It  was  a  prophecy  of  a  brighter,  a  bigger  and  a  better 
future. 

But  after  all,  that  which  clings  closest  and  is  most 
enduring  is  the  splendid  spirit  of  fellowship  and  friend- 
ship developed  through  those  memorable  weeks  together, 
when  we,  a  group  of  Pilgrims,  carried  the  message  of  our 
glorious  faith  from  ocean  to  ocean. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    Towards   the   Sunset      . 11 

II    Crossing  the  Great  Divide 16 

III  Through  the  Desert  to  Paradise     ....     27 

IV  Meanderings  and  Musings  in  Fairyland     .     .     37 
V    In  Old  Mission  Days 47 

VI  San  Diego  and  Its  Exposition  Gem     ....     53 

VII    '-El  Camino  Real" 64 

VIII  San  Francisco  the  Phenix     .     .      ....     .     74 

IX    Exploring  the  Exposition 84 

X  "Universalist  Day"  at  the  Exposition    ...     96 

XI    Facing  Homeward     .      . 106 

XII  The  Journey  I  Did  not  Take    .      .      .      .      .     .  117 


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THE   YUCCA 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Colonnade   of  the   Palace   of   Arts    ....     Frontispiece 

Palm  in  Pasadena vi 

The  Yucca x 

Daily  Ugcwumaypcnss 15 

Snapshots  Along  the  Way 19 

Plunging  into  the  Rockies — Seeing  the  Mormon  Temple — 

A  Car-load  of  Pilgrims 23 

Nevada  Indian  Wickiup 26 

Scenes  in  the  Desert .  29 

Universalist  Churches  in  Riverside,  Pasadena,  Los  Angeles  33 

Riot   of   Flowers 39 

Motoring  in  the  Foothills 42 

Memorial  to  Father  Thioop  and  Dr.  Conger     ....  45 

Hotel  Maryland  Pergola 46 

"El  Camino  Real" — San  Gabriel  Mission — Santa  Catalina  49 

A  Pasadena  Home 52 

Picking    Oranges 55 

California  State  Building  at  the  San  Diego  Exposition     .  58 

A   Pacific   Beach 65 

Court    of    Palms 73 

Seal  Rocks — Fountain  of  Energy — Avenue  of  Palms     .  81 

They  Call  It  a  Tea  House 83 

Palace   of   Horticulture 85 

Court  of  the  Universe 8§ 

Round   About  the   Fair 91 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

^   -.„         .        ^    PAGE 

Caliiomia   Building 94 

Court  of  Abundance ' 98 

The  Colonnade ]^05 

Three  Mountains— Sir  Donald,  Mount  Tamalpais,  Mount 

Lowe 108 

Via  Shasta  Route  to  Canada 119 

Portland,  Oregon,  Church  and  Pastor 123 


A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 


CHAPTER  I 

TOWARDS   THE   SUNSET 

"It  can't  be  done!"  But  it  was  done.  "It  will  be 
so  hot!"  But  it  was  not.  "No  one  will  go!"  But 
three  hundred  did  go.  "It  will  surely  fail!"  But  it 
did  not.  "We  are  not  big  enough  to  carry  out  such  a 
great  enterprise!"  But  we  did  take  the  largest  excur- 
sion out  of  Boston,  and  the  railroad  men  of  Chicago 
announced  that  ours  was  the  largest  out  of  Chicago 
this  season. 

All  of  which  shows  that,  sometimes,  we  know  more 
about  things  after  they  "have  happened  than  before! 
But  mostly  we  do  not  learn  this  lesson  until  it  is  too 
late!  A  good  many  who  wanted  to  go  did  not  make  up 
their  minds  until  it  was  too  late,  and  to  them  the  story 
of  our  journey  into  the  sunset  may  be  harrowing  to 
their  feelings,  but  in  the  interest  of  our  denominational 
history  we  must  write  down  the  record  .which  shows 
that  the  Universalist  Church  can  do  a  great  thing  if  it 
really  wants  to. 

•  We  are  apt  to  balk  at  raising  a  few  thousand  dol- 
lars for  the  mission  work  of  our  cause,  but  when  we 
really  want  something  and  are  'determined  to  have  it, 
less  than  five  hundred  of  us  can,  and  actually  have, 

11 


12  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

put  up  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars 
for  the  best  time  on  record,  and  an  inspiring  session 
of  our  Conventions  as  an  incident.  There  are  those 
who  ask  the  old  question  which  the  Master  answered 
centuries  ago:  "Could  not  all  this  money  have  been 
given  to  missions?"  The  Master's  answer  is  just  as 
good  to-day! 

It  has  been  a  long  and  arduous  task  making  ar- 
rangements for  the  tour,  and  to  so  adjust  it  that  it 
would  really  serve  our  church.  From  the  first  the 
Committee  has  determined  that  this  was  to  be  no  mere 
excursion.  It  would  have  been  easy  to  gather  a  mis- 
cellaneous crowd,  but  we  have  insisted  upon  a  personnel 
which  is  identified  with  our  own  people.  There  have 
been  hundreds  of  applications  which  have  been  rejected 
because  the  applicants  were  simply  desiring  to  make  use 
of  our  going  to  get  something  for  themselves — those 
who  wanted  to  use  us  as  long  as  useful  and  then  drop 
us.  We  succeeded  in  gathering  Universalists  and  the 
intimate  friends  of  Universalism ;  we  kept  them  together 
and  landed  the  whole  party  at  the  Los  Angeles  Church  for 
the  first  meeting,  and  on  the  third  day,  when  this  is  being 
written,  the  members  of  the  party  are  carrying  out  the 
program  and  we  are  holding  a  really  great  session.  Be- 
tween sessions,  and  after  the  meetings  are  over,  every  op- 
portunity is  being  furnished  so  that  the  enjoyments  of  the 
tour  are  made  possible  for  all.  But  we  brought  out  Uni- 
versalists to  attend  our  Conventions  and  they  are  doing  it. 
It  was  no  small  task  to  work  out  the  multitude  of  details, 
but  with  help  from  all,  and  with  a  fine  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice  and  willingness  to  make  the  best  of  everything, 
with  a  practical  fellowship  and  co-operation  on  the  part 
of  all,  we  came  into  this  wonderful  land  to  find  that  our 


TOWARDS  THE  SUNSET  13 

gracious  hosts  had  been  doing  equally  great  stunts,  and 
had  mastered  their  problem  to  the  last  detail,  and  their 
world  was  ours.  More  must  be  said  later  of  the  splendid 
hospitality  which  has  made  these  Conventions  memorable. 

From  an  advertisino:  standpoint,  this  great  enter- 
prise has  been  worth  all  it  cost,  for  from  the  time  when 
we  entered  the  gate  at  the  South  Station  in  Boston  which 
was  marked  by  a  big  sign, ' '  UNIVERSALIST  CONVEN- 
TIONS', ' '  until  we  landed  safely  in  California  the  people 
knew  that  the  Universalist  Church  was  on  the  map !  In 
the  East  the  law  forbids  signs  upon  the  trains,  but  after 
we  left  Chicago  a  big  sign,  at  night  electrically  lighted, 
glowingly  lighted  our  way  through  thousands  of  miles  of 
country,  and  in  much  of  the  new  country  this  was  supple- 
mented by  the  distribution  of  our  literature,  which  was 
sown  as  seed  along  the  way. 

About  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  Pilgrims,  rep- 
resenting every  New  England  State,  took  the  train  in 
Boston,  another  group  was  added  at  Worcester,  and 
still  more  at  Springfield.  Another  car  was  attached  at 
Albany  containing  the  New  York  delegation.  Utica, 
Syracuse  and  Rochester  made  their  contributions,  until 
over  two  hundred  were  on  board.  All  these  were  in 
charge  of  three  conductors  from  Thos.  Cook  &  Son,  and  a 
genial  representative  from  the  New  York  Central  system. 
We  were  cared  for'  to  the  limit,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first 
half  of  the  pilgrimage,  a  vote  of  the  members  would  be 
unanimous  in  commending  the  management,  which  ex- 
tended to  every  detail.  This  is  to  be  said  in  justice  to 
Thcs.  Cook  &  Son,  that  not  only  did  they  live  up  to  their 
agreements  in  every  particular,  but  were  generous  in 
making  adaptations  to  fit  every  contingency,  and  we  all 
owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  their  representatives,  who  with 


14  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

infinite  courtesy  and  patience  took  from  our  shoulders 
the  many  petty  cares  of  a  long  journey,  and  gave  us  free- 
dom to  enjoy  unrestrained  the  delights  of  the  trip. 

And  we  did  enjoy  to  the  utmost.  No  accident  and  no 
illness,  no  unforseen  event,  marred  the  delightful  com- 
panionship. About  the  dining  tables  we  became  ac- 
quainted, and  within  a  few  hours  we  were  as  one  family. 
To  each  member  the  General  Committee  gave  a  beautiful 
badge  and  pin,  the  latter  of  sterling  silver  and 'enamel, 
showing  the  die  of  the  "United  Universalist  Conventions" 
which  has  appeared  in  connection  with  all  the  advertising, 
and  is  sure  to  be  preserved  as  a  souvenir  of  real  worth. 
Every  one  was  introduced  to  every  one  else  by  the  wear- 
ing of  white  disks,  upon  which  appeared  the  name  and 
address  of  the  wearer.  These  were  the  "Who's  Who" 
of  the  journey. 

The  second  day  brought  a  pleasant  surprise  in  the 
form  of  the  tirst  issue  of  the  Daily  Ugcwmnaypcuss,  a 
newspaper,  which  was  edited  and  printed  on  the  train 
by  a  group  of  the  young  people,  assisted  by  a  large 
corps  of  the  ablest  writers !  This  daily  paper  was  made 
possible  by  the  generosity  of  one  of  the  elder  and  most 
loyal  and  generous  Universalists,  who,  being  himself 
unable  to  go,  contributed  a  traveling  typewriter,  to 
which  was  added  a  duplicating  machine,  by  the  use  of 
which  it  was  possible  to  issue  every  morning  an  edition 
of  three  hundred  copies  so  that  every  "subscriber"  was 
supplied.  That  this  enterprise  was  a  success  was  shown 
by  such  a  demand  for  extra  copies  ' '  to  send  to  friends, ' ' 
as  to  put  a  premium  on  them. 


THE 

Daily  Ugcwumaypcuss 

A  JOURNAL  OF  FACT   FELLOWSHIP  AND  FRIVOLITY 

Vol  I  Sandar.  Jolr  4.    1815  No    3 


Entered  at  First  Cla<s  Ma 


PUDLISHEO  BY 

THE  GENERAL  CONSENT  PUBLISHING  CO .  LimlieJ 


DAILY  UGCWUMAYPCUSS 


CHAPTER  II 

CROSSING   THE   GREAT    DIVIDE 

At  Chicago  our  train  became  too  heavy  to  run  as 
one  section,  and  thereafter  we  drove  tandem  all  the 
way  through.  But  we  were  continually  coming  together 
at  important  stations  for  brief  interchange  of  greet- 
ings, whenever  the  tail  overtook  the  kite!  We  parted 
company  at  Chicago  in  the  early  evening,  after  we  had 
traipsed  all  over  the  village  together,  renewing  our  rela- 
tions when  we  awoke  next  morning,  at  Omaha,  where 
we  became  the  guests  of  the  Union  Pacific  for  a  day  and 
a  night,  and  we  were  toured  across  the  plains  along  the 
new  but  already  famous  Lincoln  Highway.  Of  which 
we  wish  to  remark  in  passing,  that  it  is  better  to  enjoy 
this  highway  from  a  Pullman  sleeper  running  smoothly 
on  the  rails,  than  to  attempt  to  exploit  it,  after  a  long 
season  of  heavy  rains,  in  a  Ford — or  even  in  an  auto- 
mobile ! 

There  was  a  continuous  procession  of  vehicles  all 
headed  for  California,  but  we  can  not  conscientiously 
say,  going  there !  Some  seemed  to  have  become  fixed 
features  of  the  landscape,  and  from  the  hubs  up  were 
visible  to  the  naked  eye.  The  upper  works  were  covered 
with  the  impedimenta  of  the  journey,  and  the  sur- 
rounding rocks,  when  there  were  any,  became  pedestals 
on  which  were  perched  lugubrious  statues  of  humans 
wrapped  in  dusters  and  waterproofs,  having  the  time 

16 


CROSSING  THE  GREAT  DIVIDE  17 

of  their  lives!  There  is  no  doubt  about  it,  for  the 
most  of  them  it  was  different  from  anything  they  had 
before  experienced,  and  after  all,  most  of  our  good  times 
are  simply  different  times.  It  is  not  a  qviestion  of 
better  or  worse.  We  nearly  kill  ourselves  to  get  rich, 
and  then  kill  ourselves  again  to  get  back  to  the  sim- 
plicity of  poverty.  People  tear  the  world  to  pieces  to 
get  into  society,  only  to  move  heaven  and  earth  to  get 
away  from  society  and  get  a  rest!  Those  people 
stranded  on  the  plains  of  Nebraska  or  amid  the  bare 
mountains  of  Wyoming,  getting  a  cold  bite  from  the 
lunch  basket,  tearing  their  gloves  and  blistering  their 
hands  in  really  doing  something,  filling  their  lungs  full 
of  pure  air,  and  bringing  into  play  muscles  they  knew 
not  they  possessed,  probably  thought  they  were  having 
hard  luck,  but  you  run  across  them  a  few  months  later, 
and  they  will  tell  their  experience  with  a  gusto  which 
shows  that  down  deep  enough  there  is  a  bit  of  genuine 
human  nature  in  the  most  artificial  of  us  all.  It  is  such 
a  wretchedly  small  house-of-self  we  live  in  most  of  the 
time,  and  we  think  life  is  to  fill  our  small  shanty  with 
good  things;  then  comes  along  an  experience  and 
smashes  the  walls  of  our  domicile,  and  we  find  ourselves 
out  of  doors  in  the  big  world  and  in  the  companionship 
of  fellow  human  beings,  and  everything  is  magnified, 
and  we  are  glad  to  live. 

Before  we  were  half-way  on  our  journey,  we  on  the 
Special  were  getting  acquainted  and  finding  that  there 
were  other  nice  people  beside  ourselves  on  board,  and 
it  did  not  matter  who  were  in  the  "uppers"  or  who  were 
in  the  "lowers,"  or  even  who  were  in  the  "dr's,"  who 
had  "first  sitting"  or  who  had  second,  for  we  were  all 
one  family,  multiplying  our  own  pleasure  by  so  many 


18  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

times  as  we  made  some  one  else  glad.  There  is  very 
little  difference  between  a  special  train-load  of  folks 
and  a  world-load  of  folks!  In  fact,  this  world  is  just 
one  of  the  Lord's  "Specials"  on  a  Ion":  tour  of  the 
Universe,  and  is  being  specially  conducted !  Mostly 
the  passengers  are  contented  and  happy,  but  of  course 
there  are  some  who  have  not  known  how  to  live.  They 
have  not  discovered  the  fallacy  of  our  lowly  friends 
the  pigs,  and  so  they  are  out  to  get  all  they  can  and 
give  as  little  as  they  can,  with  the  result  that  they  never 
get  out  of  their  little  pen,  until  they  are  fat  enough  to 
kill !  Some  time  we  are  all  going  to  discover  that  the 
real  law  of  life  is  sacrifice;  that  we  get  only  through 
giving;  that  no  one  can  live  alone  unto  himself  without 
losing  all  he  seeks  for. 

The  conductor  of  the  Pullman  train  officially  pro- 
nounced our  party  the  best  one  he  had  ever  conducted; 
and  we  agreed  with  him !  We  came  very  near  realizing 
the  ideal  of  community  life,  which  means  simply  that 
we  practised  the  religion  we  were  out  to  preach.  And 
if  we  could  do  that  all  the  time  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
would  not  be  far  away.  But  we  had  some  preaching 
too.  We  had  our  special  song  books,  ' '  Songs  Along  the 
Way,"  and  we  had  the  fine  portable  organs,  and  we 
had  some  genuine  singers,  and  regularly  we  .had  service 
in  the  ears,  with  addresses  or  sermonettes  by  some  of 
our  ministers  who  can  only  be  heard  ordinarily  in  the 
big  pulpits  of  the  big  cities.  But  this  was  no  ordinary 
occasion !  These  ser\'ices  will  long  be  remembered  by 
those  who  enjoyed  them  so  much ;  they  were  really  a 
benediction  bringing  us  all  closer  together  in  real  fel- 
lowship of  the  spirit.  And  there  were  other  co-opera- 
tions beside*  those  of.  worship,  for  at  times  troupes  went 


SNAPSHOTS   ALONG   THE   WAY 


20  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

through  the  cars  singing  glad  songs,  and  entertainments 
of  a  varied  character  were  given  in  which  the  versatil- 
ity of  talent  displayed  made  startling  revelations  of  the 
wideness  of  the  minister's  education! 

The  plains  of  Nebraska  were  a  novelty  to  the  New 
England  farmers,  accustomed  as  they  are  to  two  rocks 
to  every  bit  of  soil.  The  far-reaching  acres  of  fertile 
land  seemed  to  show  the  extravagance  of  Providence 
.when  free  from  puritanical  restraint!  All  over  these 
wide  acres  the  inhabitants  had  thoughtfully  decorated 
the  scene  with  picturesque  bunches  of  cattle  and  horses, 
until  we  began  to  doubt  there  being  any  excuse  for  the 
high  cost  of  living.  Through  this  land  we  had  expected 
to  get  our  first  taste  of  the  blistering  heat  which  those 
who  remained  at  home  had  promised  us  if  we  did  so 
foolish  a  thing  as  to  go  into  the  West  in  the  middle  of 
the  summer.  But  alas  for  their  prophecies!  The 
weather  was  perfect,  the  frequent  showers  freshened  the 
atmosphere  and  made  clean  and  beautiful  the  entire 
landscape,  there  was  absolutely  no  dust,  and  never  was 
a  journey  made  in  more  comfort. 

When  we  woke  the  third  morning  out,  we  were  just 
beginning  to  climb  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rockies,  but 
so  gradual  is  this  slope  it  was  hardly  perceptible,  and 
before  we  realized  it  we  were  over  a  mile  above  sea  level, 
and  were  twisting  and  turning  in  and  out  among  the 
little  mountains  on  top  of  the  great  range,  and  finding 
new  surprises  and  delights  in  every  turn.  It  is  a  thing 
worth  while  to  feel  that  you  are  actually  on  top  of  the 
earth  and  almost  everything  is  beneath  you,  just  enough 
left  above  to  keep  your  aspirations  alive  and  active.  A 
little  way  beyond  Cheyenne  we  were  at  the  summit,  but 
had  it  not  been  for  the  figures  given  on  the  time  table 


CROSSING  THE  GREAT  DIVIDE  21 

showing  the  altitude  few  would  have  realized  how  near 
they  were  to  heaven !  But  then  that  is  a  common  ex- 
perience with  us  all,  we  never  know  when  we  are  near- 
est success,  or  when  heaven  is  nearest  at  hand.  Mostly 
we  are  always  going  to  be  blessed,  or  going  to  be  happy, 
and  in  looking  for  that  which  is  to  come,  we  overlook 
that  which  is  at  hand.  On  top  of  the  Rockies  we  sense 
in  some  measure  the  bigness  of  this  world  and  how 
few  people  there  are  on  it.  How  many  miles  we  drove 
along  with  never  a  house  or  a  living  thing  in  sight, 
and  then  we  would  dash  through  some  city,  or  pause 
at  some  station,  and  the  groups  of  people  would  catch 
sight  of  the  sign  on  our  train  and  begin  to  wonder  ' '  who 
these  Universalists  were."  And  in  one  place  where  we 
paused  for  a  few  moments  we  overheard  one  native 
explaining  to  another  that  we  were  the  ' '  Universal  Film 
Company ! ' '  Such  is  fame !  But  it  was  revealed  to 
us  as  we  traveled  that  the  fields  for  our  missionary  work 
are  broad;  we  have  not  yet  touched  the  edge  of  our 
mission.  And  here  we  began  the  sowing  of  our  mission- 
ary literature.  We  thought  we  took  great  quantities, 
but  really  what  we  had  was  but  a.s  a  drop  in  the  ocean. 
If  it  ever  happens  that  we  go  again  into  a  new  country, 
we  must  take  with  us  not  less  than  a  carload,  and  then 
arrange  to  follow  it  up  with  more.  We  have  not  yet 
learned  the  alphabet  of  missionary  extension,  and  that 
is  the  law  of  our  life,  as  it  is  the  condition  of  the  life 
of  any  church.     We  must  grow  or  die. 

Throughout  that  great  country,  with  its  new  and 
inquisitive  and  aspiring  people,  there  are  vast  districts 
where  there  is  no  church  of  any  sect,  and  vaster  dis- 
tricts where  they  never  heard  of  an  interpretation  of 
Christianity  which  is  sane  and  sweet  and  salutary  and 


22  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

scientific  and  sensible,  and  here  were  we  being  hurtled 
through,  with  our  hearts  full  of  the  greatest  message 
the  world  has  ever  known,  and  had  to  offer  but  a  few 
little  leaflets!  But  we  noted  how,  perhaps  but  from 
curiosity,  old  and  young  ran  eagerly  to  pick  up  the 
message  we  threw  down. 

In  every  one  of  these  throbbing,  thrilling  cities  of  the, 
wide  West,  that  are  growing  so  fast  in  material  things, 
we  should  have  at  least  a  station  for  the  distribution  of 
our  literature;  even  more,  we  should  have  a  church 
for  the  proclamation  of  the  Gospel  of  the  Universal 
Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Universal  Brotherhood  of 
Men,  the  one  and  only  solvent  of  the  great  and  press- 
ing problems  of  the  age.  And  we  can  have  all  these, 
if  we  are  willing  to  take  our  mission  seriously,  and  not 
think  of  it  simply  as  a  means  of  more  or  less  elegant 
support!  The  churches  now  established  and  the  min- 
isters now  being  sustained  must  recognize  that  meas- 
urably they  are  all  failing,  no  matter  how  large  the 
congregation,  how  magnificent  the  edifice,  how  brilliant 
the  preacher, — they  are  failing  unless  they  are  reaching 
out  with  their  message  to  the  most  remote  fields. 

We  are  profoundly  impressed  with  the  influence  upon 
those  who  were  on  this  journey,  making  them  feel  some- 
thing of  the  missionary  spirit  for  the  Universalist 
Church,  and  we  are  sure  that  some  of  this  seed  scat- 
tered along  the  way  will  take  root  and  grow  and  bear 
fruit.  Would  that  we  could  have  scattered  a  thousand 
times  as  much ;  would  that  we  might  have  burned  the 
name  of  the  Universalist  Church  upon  the  very  rocks 
of  the  mountains  through  which  we  passed,  and-  left 
something  of  its  beneficent  spirit  in  the  hearts  of  all 
whom  we  met !     Some  of  this  we  did ;  we  carried  cheer 


♦  m"^ 


^Ns 


PLUNGING   INTO   THE   ROCKIES 

SEEING   THE   MORMON   TEMPLE 

A  CAR-LOAD  OP  PILGRIMS 


24  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

and  hope  and  confidence  to  the  scattered  of  our  faith, 
we  made  many  know  of  the  Universalist  Church  who 
never  knew  of  it  before,  and  in  the  times  to  come, 
when  they  are  seeking  after  a  program  of  life,  it  may  be 
they  will  turn  again  to  it  and  find  help.  Of  course 
we  might  have  done  more,  but  we  rejoice  that  we  have 
done  what  we  have,  that  we  faced  a  magnificent  op- 
portunity and  were  not  afraid.  We  have  shown  that  we 
can  do  big  things  if  we  choose,  and  are  more  ready  to 
attempt  something  worth  while. 

It  may  be  the  big  mountains,  the  bigger  plains,  the 
wide  view,  the  larger  sense  of  a  new  freedom;  it  may 
be  the  spirit  of  the  Golden  and  Glorious  West  is  upon 
me,  and  that  is  why  I  am  seeing  things  big  for  our 
Church ;  but  whatever  it  is,  I  welcome'  it  and  surrender 
myself  to  it.  Never  was  the  world's  need  of  the  Uni- 
versalist Faith  and  Universalist  Church  so  great  as  to- 
day ;  its  theological  work  of  the  past  was  but  child 's  play 
compared  to  the  stupendous  practical  service  it  can  and 
should  render  to  humanity  in  this  hour.  There  are 
those  who  are  timid  and  will  shrink  from  the  burden, 
there  are  those  who  are  selfish  and  will  pause  to  cal- 
culate as  to  how  it  will  afiPect  them  personally,  but  there 
are  others,  true  disciples  of  the  Master,  who  are  ready 
to  go  at  his  command.  I  believe  there  are  enough  of 
brave  and  consecrated  souls  ready  to  set  the  Universalist 
Church  on  its  way  to  victory,  the  victory  which  will 
bring  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

It  was  noon  when  we  arrived  at  Salt  Lake  City.  For 
an  hour  we  had  been  riding  along  in  sight  of  the  Great 
Salt  Lake,  the  mystery  of  the  West,  and  all  longing 
for  a  chance  to  have  a  swim  in  water  where  we  could 
not  sink !     Then  we  came  to  the  city  itself,  not  upon  the 


CROSSING  THE  GREAT  DIVIDE  25 

shore  of  the  lake,  but  in  the  chosen  place  where  of  old 
came  the  strange  people  who  have  made  of  it  one  of  the 
great  cities  of  the  world,  and  doing  it  all  by  a  certain 
phase  of  the  dominant  motive  of  the  age,  co-operation. 
Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  Mormon  religion,  and 
against  much  of  it  we  instinctively  revolt,  we  must 
recognize  the  far-reaching  wisdom  which  planned  on 
so  large  a  scale  the  realization  of  so  large  a  thought. 
It  is  a  beautiful  city  for  situation ;  girt  round  by  majes- 
tic mountains  whose  melting  snows  are  commanded  to 
supply  most  delicious  water  in  great  abundance,  it  is 
the  throbbing  heart  of  one  of  the  most  productive  dis- 
tricts in  the  entire  nation.  On  the  face  of  things  here 
is  everything  that  man  can  demand,  peace,  prosperity 
and  happiness!     But — there  is  a  fly  in  the  ointment! 

We  were  taken  to  a  beautiful,  a  magnificent  hotel, 
which  has  been  built  by  the  church.  We  were  feasted 
as  we  might  have  been  at  one  of  the  great  hostelries  in 
the  East;  no  difference  could  be  seen.  Then  we  sang 
our  songs  and  had  a  prayer  and  went  out  to  see  the 
sights,  in  sight-seeing  cars  and  automobiles.  We  saw 
the  park  in  which  we  were  to  have  had  our  service  had 
time  permitted,  and  we  entered  the  tabernacle,  where  we 
were  invited  to  join  in  a  service,  which  we  could  not  do. 
We  "did  the  town"  in  a  most  satisfactory  way,  and 
continued  to  wonder  at  the  marvel  of  the  thing.  Here 
were  the  glorious  results  of  co-operation,  and  yet  never 
ha.s  there  existed  a  more  complete  autocracy !  Great 
things  can  be  done  when  vast  sums  of  money  are  con- 
tributed to  a  common  fund  either  voluntarily  or  on  com- 
pulsion, providing  there  is  a  real  head  at  the  head  and  no 
one  asks  any  questions!  Mysterious  and  mighty  organ- 
izations can  and  do  accomplish  marvels,  but  there  must 


26 


A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 


be  some  other  evidence  of  the  worth  of  a  religion  than  a 
bank  account  and  government  control ! 

And  then  it  was  evening  and  we  were  away  on  the 
last  lap  of  our  journey,  across  the  Nevada  deserts  and 
over  the  Sierras  to  the  realization  of  our  dreams,  South- 
ern California. 


i-ak*t*i«5!®.^<ifc,  ^,, 


NEVADA   INDIAN   WICKIUP 


CHAPTER  III 

THROUGH    THE   DESERT   TO   PARADISE 

We  were  out  in  the  real  desert,  and  one  of  our  min- 
isters— and  a  number  of  others — remarked:  "Did  you 
ever  see  such  a  God-forsaken  country?"  And  within 
a  few  hours  the  same  minister  was  reading  in  the  serv- 
ice, * '  The  earth  is  the  Lord 's  and  the  fullness  thereof ! ' ' 
But,  like  many  others,  he  picked  out  certain  particular 
spots  which  happened  to  please  his  fancy,  as  the  special 
possession  of  the  Lord,  and  left  us  wondering  as  to  the 
ownership  of  the  desert!  To  ray  thinking  the  desert 
is  an  especially  choice  possession  of  the  Lord,  and  it  is 
easy  to  find  Him  there.  To  those  who  hustle  through 
its  wide  reaches  when  the  heat  is  intense,  as  it  sometimes 
is,  and  the  dust  is  penetrating  and  the  glare  of  the  light 
is  dazzling,  and  there  is  no  green  thing  to  rest  the  eye, 
and  no  living  thing  to  divert  the  thought,  there  comes 
the  instinctive  thought  of  death,  but  the  desert  is  not 
dead,  it  simply  has  not  yet  come  into  life.  The  desert  is 
at  the  beginning  of  things;  all  the  rest  of  the  world  is 
more  or  less  far  along  the  way  towards  death.  The 
desert  has  not  yet  been  born.  It  is  potential  with  life. 
Touch  it  with  the  magic  of  water  and  presently  it  is 
transformed  as  by  a  miracle.  Beneath  that  grey  and  at 
times  almost  ghastly  face,  there  is  wondrous  beauty, 
beneath  that  insensible   crust  there  is  every  form   of 

27 


28  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

vegetable  and  mineral  life,  and  but  a  little  farther  along 
the  possibility  of  every  phase  of  animal  life  up  to  the 
human — all  unawakened,  but  waiting  their  time.  When 
the  proud  cities  of  men,  the  productive  mines  and  fruit- 
ful fields,  have  reached  the  end  of  their  resources,  then 
will  the  desert  be  coming  into  its  own ;  touched  by  one 
of  the  fingers  of  God,  it  will  blossom  as  the  rose ;  instead 
of  the  thorn  there  shall  come  up  the  myrtle. 

Only  a  few-  have  seen  the  real  desert  in  all  its  mag- 
nificent variety  and  its  thrilling  sensitiveness.  It  is 
not  for  those  who  travel  in  Pullmans,  grinding  its 
beautj^  and-  sentiment  and  vitality  under  the  wheels, 
to  know  its  mystery  and  majesty.  I\Ien  go  and  live 
in  the  desert,  and  after  they  have  lived  there  a  little 
while  they  come  to  love  it,  and  can  not  be  drawn  away. 
And  sometimes  it  is  given  to  the  passing  guest  to  catch 
a  glimpse  of  its  sublimity,  and  ever  after  he  treasures 
the  memory.  To  know  the  desert  one  must  see  it  at 
night,  when  the  great  stillness  is  over  all — when,  in  an 
atmosphere  so  pure  that  it  weaves  no  barriers  to  the  eye, 
one  looks  across  the  long,  long  distances,  such  as  are 
known  nowhere  else  on  the  globe,  rimmed  with  great 
shadowy  mountains  which  are  so  mobile  in  the  fingers 
of  the  moonlight  that  they  are  like  dissolving  views  of 
houses  and  castles  where  romance  has  its  birth,  and 
where  poetry  dwells.  There  is  no  moonlight  like  that  we 
see  and  feel  in  the  desert ;  there  is  no  such  starlight  else- 
where on  the  whole  earth.  To  be  out  alone  beneath  the 
stars,  and  see  them,  not  stuck  against  the  sky,  but  each 
one  swung  down  on  invisible  cords  until  it  hangs  there 
in  space,  while  the  sky  is  farther  beyond  than  the  star 
is  from  the  eye !  And  the  moon  is  a  new  luminary,  not 
the  old,  dead  planet  glowing  with  reflected  light,  but  a 


SCKXKS.IX  THE   DESERT 


30  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

liying  thing  dominating  the  biggest  world  we  have  ever 
seen,  and  setting  the  mountains  to  playing  hide  and  seek 
with  their  own  shadows.  God-forsaken?  Go  out  into 
that  wonderful  stillness,  lie  down  with  your  face  to  the 
heavens,  and  look  into  such  distance  as  you  have  never 
known,  look  as  far  as  you  can,  and  then  look  farther,  for 
new  worlds  are  opening  beyond,  sense  the  bigness  of  the 
earth,  the  smallness  of  yourself,  possess  a  thought  of 
the  universe  that  will  be  yours  for  the  first  time,  realize 
how  far  you  are  from  the  puny  sounds  of  man  and  the 
sight  of  his  tiny  creations,  then  look  upon  the  mighty 
worlds  swinging  from  the  fingers  of  God,  listen  till  you 
catch  a  bit  of  the  harmony  of  a  universe  of  order,  and 
presently  you  will  say,  "Lo,  God  is  here,"  and  you  will 
worship  more  truly  than  at  any  man-made  altar. 

It  was  from  my  window  in  the  sleeper  that  I  looked 
out  upon  the  moon-lit  and  star-lit  night  as  the  train 
rolled  on  with  its  treasures  of  human  lives,  mostly  un- 
conscious of  the  marvels  through  which  they  were  pass- 
ing, and  I  caught  glimpses  of  God's  dwelling  place,  but 
I  saw  more  and  farther  through  the  windows  of  memory 
— other  nights  in  the  desert  in  which  I  had  learned  to 
love  and  reverence  this  Holy  of  Holies  in  the  temple  of 
our  God. 

We  were  very  fortunate  in  finding  the  desert  in  a 
most  genial  mood.  We  had  been  warned  against  the 
dangers  we  were  inviting,  by  choosing  a  route  which 
would  carry  us  through  "the  dreary  M'astes"  when  the 
summer  sun  was  high.  And  we  did  experience  some 
excess  of  temperature,  but  not  enough  to  make  us  any 
more  uncomfortable  than  we  are  hundreds  of  times  amid 
the  hills  of  New  England,  for  there  we  are  stewed  in  a 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT  TO  PARADISE     31 

moist  atmosphere,  while  through  the  desert,  though  the 
mercury  runs  high,  the  air  is  so  dry  there  is  little  in- 
convenience if  we  keep  in  the  shadow.  And  it  was  all 
so  novel  to  most  of  us,  so  entirely  different  from  any- 
thing we  had  ever  seen,  and  while  we  strained  our  eyes 
to  catch  a  sight  of  habitation,  or  evidence  of  the  pres- 
ence of  man,  there  was  no  sense  of  loneliness,  for  by  this 
time  we  were  indeed  as  a  great  family,  each  interested 
in  each  other,  and  each  eager  to  contribute  to  the  general 
good. 

The  Daily  TJ gcwumaypcuss  came  out  as  usual  on  the 
last  day  of  the  journey,  and  there  was  regret  that  it  was 
the  last  number,  for  it  had  been  chief  among  the  diver- 
sions, and  we  found  that  the  Copies  were  being  treasured. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  some  time  when  the  centennial  of 
this  pilgrimage  is  celebrated,  this  paper  will  be  repro- 
duced in  facsimile  as  a  great  curiosity. 

As  the  day  lengthened  we  climbed  over  the  Sierra 
Nevada  Mountains,  and  twisted  in  and  out  among  the 
spurs  of  the  San  Bernardino  and  the  Sierra  Madre,  and 
were  thrilled  with  the  delight  of  real  scenery.  These 
mountains  were  not  as  high  above  the  sea  level  as  we  had 
been  in  crossing  the  Rockies,  but  they  were  more  abrupt 
and  of  sharper  outline,  and  really  gave  a  sense  of  greater 
grandeur.  Then  there  were  the,  to  us,  strange  forms  of 
vegetation,  the  weird  cacti,  and  later  all  the  slopes  were 
lighted  with  yucca,  which  stood  like  gigantic  candles 
against  the  background  of  browns  and  reds  and  bronzes 
and  greys,  of  sand  and  rock.  And  in  the  late  afternoon 
we  swung  down  into  the  valley,  where  the  orange  and 
lemon  trees,  the  figs  and  walnuts,  began  to  appear,  and 
though  it  was  out  of  season,  there  was  an  occasional 


32    .  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

glimpse  of 'the  golden  fruit  of  the  orange  nestling  within 
the  cool  shadows  of  the  dark  green  leaves. 

The  first  sight  of  an  orange  on  the  tree  is  an  experi- 
ence only  to  be  forgotten  when  the  keener  experience 
of  picking  the  fruit  has  crowded  it  into  obscurity. 
There  are  few  fruits  more  picturesque  than  the  orange; 
it  appeals  not  only  to  the  palate,  but  to  the  imagina- 
tion. It  is  so  attractive  that  it  makes  one  wonder  some- 
times if  it  was  not  an  orange  rather  than  an  apple  which 
tempted  our  good  old  mother  Eve!  Certainly  it  seems 
more  plausible  to  suppose  that  the  lady  in  question  was 
a  dweller  in  the  more  salubrious  climate  where  the 
orange  grows,  rather  than  in  Maine  or  Michigan  or 
Minnesota,  where  the  apt>le  reaches  its  perfection ! 
Anyway  we  saw  the  oranges  of  Southern  California  on 
the  trees,  and  later  we-  had  the  pleasure  of  actually  pick- 
ing them ;  and  of  tlie  eating — it  is  better  that  the  records 
be  erased! 

We  had  made  our  plans  to  arrive  in  Riverside  in 
time  to  hold  an  informal  reception  and  have  a  brief 
service  in  our  beautiful  church,  and  we  did,  but  not 
exactly  according  to  program.  There  was  a  hot  box  on 
the  first  division  of  our  train,  and  through  its  unde- 
sirable assistance  we  were  able  to  see  more  of  certain 
portions  of  the  country  than  we  wished,  and  at  last, 
when  we  had  reached  a  convenient  siding,  the  second 
section  went  past  us,  the  passengers  cheering  us  with  de- 
risive messages  and  otherwise  displaying  their  ghoulish 
glee  at  our  discomfiture,  and  then  speeding  on  to  eat 
oranges  and  drink  innocent  punch  and  enjoy  the 
speeches  of  welcome  specially  prepared  for  us!  But 
we  got  there  all  the  same,  and  though  we  were  late,  the 
welcome  and  the  punch  held  out. 


UNIVKKSAI.IS  |-    ClirK'CllKs    IN 
RIVERSIDE,  PASADENA,  LOS  ANGELES 


34  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

California  would  not  be  California,  without  River- 
side. The  place  is  quite  unique.  The  Easterner  has 
come  to  think  of  oranges  and  Magnolia  Avenue  and 
the  Mission  Inn  and  dreamy  days  and  dreamless  nights 
and  life  ideal  whenever  Riverside  is  mentioned.  It  is 
all  true;  and  the  half  has  not  been  told.  But  when 
the  other  half  is  told  we  shall  learn  something  about 
the  condition  on  which  alone  we  can  enter  this  earthly 
heaven !  There  were  no  conditions  upon  us  save  those 
fixed  by  time,  but  then,  better  one  hour  of  Riverside 
than  a  lifetime  in  Sing  Sing,  or  even  sixty  minutes  in 
Boston !  One  of  the  features  of  Riverside  is  our  own 
beautiful  church,  round  which  cluster  memories  of 
sacred  lives  who  carried  our  faith  to  the  Pacific  Coast, 
and  recollections  of  one  of  our  successful  missionary 
endeavors,  when  by  the  united  efforts  of  all  of  our  peo- 
ple from  nearly  every  state,  we  builded  something  worth 
while.  When  we  came  to  the  church  we  found  it  decked 
with  flowers,  and  our  pastor,  Mrs.  Irwin,  with  some  of 
the  friends  receiving.  There  were  speeches  by  the 
pastor  and  Mr.  Carrier,  a  former  pastor,  with  responses 
from  the  happy  Pilgrims,  and  then,  in  our  own  way, 
each  one  decorated  with  a  big  orange,  which  was  ' '  felt, ' ' 
we  saw  as  much  of  the  sights  as  we  could  and  were  away 
again  to  our  goal  at  Pasadena.  Only  a  couple  of  hours 
by  schedule,  but  there  were  some  delays,  and  so  it  was 
nearly  midnight  when  at  last  we  were  all  asleep  in  the 
charming  and  restful  Maryland  Hotel. 

At  Riverside  members  of  the  local  committee  from 
Pasadena  met  us,  and  from  that  moment  we  cast  upon 
them  all  our  cares,  and  we  realized  that  we  were  in  the 
land  of  perpetual  sunshine.     This  matter  of  hospitality 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT  TO  PARADISE     35 

has  much,  if  not  most,  to  do  with  making  life  worth 
living  anywhere  and  any  time,  for  there  is  no  time  or 
place  when  we  must  not  entertain  or  be  entertained,  and 
the  secret  of  it  all  is  not  so  much  the  bounty  as  the 
beauty,  not  so  much  the  generosity  as  the  grace  with 
which  we  serve  or  accept  service.  Whosoever  goes  forth 
to  get  as  much  or  more  than  some  one  else,  or  to  envy 
another's  getting,  will  lose  all.  Whoso  gives  hospitality 
which  is  perfunctory  and  ungracious  knows  not  its  joys 
and  gives  not  its  blessings.  Out  of  our  faith  grows 
naturally  the  truest  hospitality,  and  it  has  been  exempli- 
fied along  the  way  of  our  pilgrimage. 

It  occurs  to  me  that  somewhere  between  sketches,  I 
have  dropped  out  the  mentioning  of  our  reception  in 
Chicago.  It  has  not  gone  from  my  memory,  but  I  shoot 
these  epistolary  arrows  into  the  air,  and  I  have  no 
means  of  knowing  when  or  where  they  light.  I  try  to 
keep  the  connection  by  way  of  linking  notes,  but  some- 
where between  Pasadena  and  San  Francisco  my  notes 
were  lost,  and  therefore  I  am  liable  to  all  sorts  of  omis- 
sions or  repetitions,  as  it  will  be  several  weeks  still  be- 
fore I  can  know  what  I  have  written!  However,  the 
thoughtfulness  of  St.  Paul's  Church  in  inviting  us  to 
luncheon  recalled  the  former  experience  when  we  were 
on  our  way  to  the  Convention  in  Minneapolis  and  we 
broke  our  journey  in  companionship  with  our  Chicago 
friends.  It  was  in  accord  with  the  thought  of  the  whole 
enterprise,  that  we  of  the  East  should  get  into  touch 
not  only  with  the  fellows  of  like  faith  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  but  all  along  the  way,  and  it  was  good  to  receive 
the  cordial  greetings  of  the  pastor.  Dr.  Brigham,  and 
the  hearty  words  of  Messrs.  Hutchinson,  Stevens  and 


36  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

Holly.  Some  time  we  are  going  to  be  a  real  Church,  so 
big  and  so  fraternal  that  there  will  be  no  East,  no  West, 
no  North,  no  South,  but  something  of  the  spirit  of  our 
name  will  take  possession  of  us  and  we  shall  be  "Uni- 
versalists"  and  live  up  to  it. 


CHAPTER  IV 

MEANDERINGS   AND    MUSINGS   IN*  FAIRYLAND 

A  week  in  Pasadena  and  Los  Angeles  is  sufficient  to 
justify  a  large  expenditure  of  money  and  time.  Aside 
from  the  sessions  of  our  Conventions,  things  were  hap- 
pening nearly  every  hour  of  the  day,  and  most  of  the 
hours  of  the  night!  Between  sessions  and  during  the 
time  allotted  to  sight-seeing  we  had  but  to  follow  the 
plans  of  the  local  committee  to  cover  pretty  well,  with 
the  commonplace  equipment  of  earth,  the  whole  area 
of  this  modern  fairyland.  But  we  were  impressed  with 
the  difficulty  of  giving  instructions  so  they  would  lodge 
in  the  consciousness  of  those  seeking.  A  large  bulletin 
board  was  placed  in  front  of  the  church  which  every 
one  must  pass  in  going  in  or  out,  repeated  notices  were 
given  from  the  desk,  and  yet  some  would  persistently 
lose  their  way.  But  there  is  this  advantage  in  losing 
one's  way  in  Pasadena;  if  you  miss  the  place  you  are 
going  to  you  are  sure  to  find  something  better  where  you 
arrive !  It  was  a  bit  disconcerting  to  feel  the  attraction 
of  Mount  Lowe  pulling  us  towards  heaven  and  Santa 
Catalina  pulling  us  the  other  way !  But  there  was  the 
compromise  on  San  Gabriel.  All  together  we  were  able 
to  see  everything,  but  so  much  was  seen  vicariously  that 
the  only  complete  story  must  be  a  composite  which  no 
one  can  tell. 

In  Los  Angeles  we  were  first  introduced  to  a  common 

37 


38  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

experience  of  the  "get  fed  quick  system"  locally  known 
as  the  "cafeteria."  This  system,  which  originated 
somewhere  on  the  earth — or  below — like  everything  else 
which  is  transplanted  to  California,  has  grown  to  mam- 
moth proportions,  and  takes  root  in  curious  and  most  un- 
expected places.  The  one  to  which  we  were  first  intro- 
duced was  in  the  Trinity  Methodist  Church,  together 
with  a  moving  picture  show  and  stores  of  various  kinds. 
To  be  explicit,  the  Methodist  Church  has  built  itself  into 
a  great  city  block  surrounded  by  all  sorts  of  business 
from  which  it  derives  the  income  to  meet  its  expenses, 
and  the  lower  story  is  devoted  to  the  ' '  cafeteria, ' '  where 
we  entered  in  single  file,  eventually  reaching  a  counter 
where  each  one  helps  himself  to  a  large  tray,  a  napkin, 
knife  and  fork  and  spoon,  then,  sliding  this  tray  along 
a  track  past  all  forms  of  eatables,  he  selects  such  as  ap- 
peal to  him,  and  at  the  end  of  the  counter  his  collection 
is  checked  up ;  he  then  bears  his  loot  to  a  table,  satisfies 
his  appetite,  and  then,  if  he  has  the  price,  he  can  get 
out  through  another  opening — in  time  to  start  over 
again  for  the  next  meal !  I  can  not  say  I  approve  of 
the  system !  It  is  too  mechanical ;  it  destroys  all  the 
poetry  of  eating.  One  has  the  feeling  of  being  fed  with 
the  other  animals,  and  the  undeveloped  possibilities  are 
appalling,  for  in  the  not  distant  future  I  can  see  the 
downtrodden  public  not  -only  being  required  to  select 
its  own  food,  but  being  compelled  to  cook  it,  or  even  to 
catch  the  chicken  on  the  hoof! 

There  are  the  great  sights  to  see — looking  down  from 
]yiount  Lowe  across  the  crags  and  chasms  and  the  foot 
hills  to  the  wide  levels  checker-boarded  with  orange  and 
olive,  apricot  and  walnut,  to  the  beautiful  cities,  then 
on  and  on  to  where  the  Pacific  weds  the  sky  on  the 


40  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

horizon ;  tlien  there  are  the  marvels  below  the  sea,  as 
we  sit  in  the  glass-bottomed  boat  in  the  crescent  harbor 
at  Santa  Catalina,  and  look  down  into  the  depths  on 
scenes  unparalleled  off  the  sjiectacular  stage,  where 
colors  are  all  a  riot,  and  forms  violate  all  rules  of  art 
to  create  a  new  art.  There  is  nothing  to  which  the 
scenery  below  the  water  can  be  compared,  it  is  so  en- 
tirely unique.  The  water  is  as  clear  as  the  air,  and  in 
a  depth  of  fifty  feet  everything  is  as  clearly  seen  as 
horizontally  across  fifty  feet  of  distance.  There  are 
mountains  and  plains,  forests  and  sandy  wastes,  and 
through  all  these  sport  all  kinds  of  fish,  many  of  them 
most  brilliantly  colored,  and  of-  freakish  shape,  until 
we  lift  our  eyes  to  the  familiar  world  with  a  feeling  that 
we  have  just  passed  through  a  nightmare.  Then  we  can 
wander  or  ride  over  the  mountains  of  this  lonely  island 
out  in  the  midst  of  the  Pacific,  and  strain  our  eyes  to 
the  westward  where,  with  the  imagination  to  extend 
our  vision,  we  can  look  into  the  very  heart  of  Japan. 
For  those  who  love  fishing  Catalina  is  a  paradise,  for 
not  only  are  there  many  fish,  but  they  are  the  gamey 
type  which  seem  to  enjoy  the  sport  as  much  as  the  fel- 
low at  the  other  end  of  the  line !  A  large  party  of  our 
people  made  the  one  daj^  trip  to  the  island,  returning 
sun-burned  and  happy,  from  a  country  more  distant 
really  than  those  across  the  ocean,  for  it  is  one  more 
different,  and  after  all  it  is  difference  which  makes  dis- 
tance rather  than  the  measured  miles. 

But  it  is  the  little  things  and  the  common  things  that 
are  best,  and  after  we  have  seen  and  seen  until  our  eyes 
are  weary,  it  is  restful  to  sit  in  a  comfortable  machine, 
when  the  day  is  near  its  ending,  and  just  be  driven  about 
the  wonder-city  of  Pasadena,  and  see  the  perfection  to 


MEANDERINGS  AND  MUSINGS  41 

which  the  building  of  homes  can  be  brought,  and  note 
how  like  jewels  of  finest  grade  they  are  fittingly  set  in 
the  most  beautiful  surroundings  of  lawns  and  flowers 
and  trees  such  as  seem  to  grow  nowhere  else,  and  one 
realizes  something  of  the  luxury  of  life  and  living.  Yet 
who  may  tell  the  mysteries  shut  behind  the  carved  doors  ? 
And  who  wants  to,  even  if  he  could?  There  is  so  little 
difference  between  the  life  in  one  sort  of  a  homestead 
and  another  when  we  count  it  in  essentials — enough  to 
eat,  enough  to  wear,  just  enough  of  comfort  and  content, 
and  love,  and  it  does  not  matter  what  the  walls  of  the 
house  are  made  of,  or  what  the  surroundings.  All  pos- 
sessions mean  care,  and  more  possessions  mean  more 
care.  There  is  the  struggle  of  many  to  get  a  living  out 
of  a  dollar,  and  squeeze  a  bit  of  happiness  with  it,  but 
the  struggle  is  no  harder  than  that  which  is  made  by 
another  to  get  a  living  and  a  bit  of  happiness  out  of  a 
thousand  dollars;  it  all  depends  on  the  habits  we  have 
formed.  And  there  is  happiness  in  the  big  houses  too, 
no  less  than  in  the  little  ones,  and  no  more,  either!  But 
those  magnificent  estates  bordering  either  side  of  the 
wide  avenues  are  beautiful  to  look  iipon,  and  the  beauty 
belongs  to  all,  and  all  can  enjoy,  while  one  pays  the 
bills !  Sometimes  I  have  wondered  how  much  satisfac- 
tion the  owner  of  the  big  house  would  get  were  there 
none  to  look  at  it  save  himself !  When  the  big  house  is 
builded  and  given  its  setting,  then,  save  others  come  to 
see,  the  building  is  in  vain.  The  most  dependent  people 
in  the  world  are  those  who  have  much,  for  they  must 
wait  on  those  who  have  opportunity  to  give.  The  bird, 
if  it  thinks  at  all,  must  sometime  think  of  gratitude  to 
the  thoughtful  men  who  have  spent  years  and  millions  in 
stringing  telegraph  wires  all  over  this  round  world,  for 


MOTORING  IX  THE  FOOTHILLS 


MEANDERINGS  AND  MUSINGS  43 

the  birds  to  roost  on — so  thinks  the  bird !  And  in  some- 
thing the  same  way  we  are  all  tangled  up  together  with 
the  things  we  must  all  be  thankful  for,  and  it  does  not 
matter  in  the  least  whether  we  are  big  or  little,  each  is 
equally  indebted  to  the  other.  I  am  more  than  grateful 
for  the  beauty  and  the  joy  and  the  satisfaction  and  the 
supreraie  glory  of  the  wonder-city,  but  my  gratitude 
reaches  the  maximum  when  I  think  I  do  not  have  to 
carry  the  responsibility  of  possession ! 

But  the  ride  in  the  twilight  was  beyond  the  region  of 
houses,  out  among  the  foot-hills  from  which  we  could 
look  up  to  the  higher  mountains  that  were  warming  in 
the  light  of  the  setting  sun.  Every  line  was  toned  to 
harmony,  and  they  seemed  so  kindly  in  spirit,  taking 
into  their  great  comforting  arms  the  last  rays  of  light  to 
nurse  to  sleep  in  darkness !  And  then,  with  the  dark- 
ness shielding  us,  but  not  without  permit,  we  drove  into 
orchards  of  apricots  and  oranges,  and  lifting  our  arms 
we  gathered  to  ourselves  the  abundance  which  would  be 
wildly  extravagant  in  the  East,  but  here  would  not  be 
missed !  As  the  child  longing  for  a  candy  house  that  he 
might  eat  his  way  in  and  out,  behold  we  were  in  a  house 
of  fruit  and  had  but  to  eat  open  the  doors !  And  we  did 
— after  a  while ! 

Our  church  in  Pasadena  has  been  a  conspicuous  land- 
mark on  the  Pacific  Coast  for  many  years,  and  its  arms 
of  influence  have  reached  out  in  many  directions  with 
hands  full  of  sustaining  strength  and  encouragement  to 
others.  Our  whole  cause  in  Southern  California  has 
centered  around  this  church,  which  is  itself  a  constant 
inspiration  in  the  story  of  its  origin  and  life.  The  Pasa- 
dena Church  illustrates  what  a  big-hearted  and  loyal 
layman  can  do  in  the  extension  of  the  faith  which  has 


44  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIl^IAGE 

come  to  be  a  part  of  his  own  life.  Father  Throop  when 
he  came  to  California  brought  his  Universalism  with 
him ;  he  had  found  it  good  to  live  with  and  good  to  live 
by,  so  when  he  migrated  to  a  new  place  he  not  only 
brought  with  him  a  supply  for  his  own  use,  but  enough 
to  divide  with  his  neighbors.  His  was  the  vision  of  a 
great  Church  in  the  rapidly  developing  land  to  which  he 
had  come ;  he  saw  in  anticipation  the  Southern  Cali- 
fornia of  to-day,  and  he  felt  the  need  of  the  Universalist 
Faith  in  the  unfolding,  and  therefore  he  with  the  help 
of  ministers  of  like  vision  established  our  cause.  And  it 
was  most  fitting  that  our  Convention  should  recognize, 
on  this  its  first  visit  to  the  Coast,  with  appropriate  cere- 
monies the  two  heroic  names  of  Throop  and  Conger, 
which  are  to  stand  in  high  places  upon  the  roll  of  honor 
in  our  history. 

These  men  had  the  true  idea  of  missionary  work ;  they 
built  for  the  future,  they  built  with  faith,  they  knew  the 
principles  of  our  Faith  were  essential  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  best  civilization,  and  they  made  their  con- 
tribution to  the  community  welfare.  They  were  wise 
enough  to  establish  a  distinctive  church.  There  was  a 
reason  for  the  existence  of  the  Universalist  Church :  it 
supplied  something  no  other  church  supplied;  the  world 
could  not  get  along  without  it.  The  church  they  built 
did  not  sprawl  all  over  the  lot,  being  everything  to  every- 
body, it  stood  for  something,  and  they  stood  up  in  self- 
respect  and  compelled  the  respect  of  everybody.  We 
have  something  to  learn  from  these  fathers  of  ours. 
They  were  not  bigoted,  but  they  were  distinctive ;  with 
the  broadest  spirit  and  the  widest  liberality  they  stood 
up  in  their  own  shoes  and  were  honored  in  their  day 
and  generation,  and  their  honor  abides. 


MEANDERINGS  AND  MUSINGS  45 

Now  we  have  a  new  Universalist  church  in  Los  An- 
geles. Its  existence  is  largely  due  to  the  practical  sym- 
pathy of  the  Pasadena  church-  and  other  churches  and 
people  throughout  the  land  who  have  swung  into  line  un- 
der the  masterful  leadership  of  Dr.  Nash  and  his  fore- 
runner and  faithful  helper,  Dr.  Canfield.  And  this  new 
church  will  succeed  just  in  proportion  to  its  distinctive 
reason  for  success.  It  will  stand  to-day  for  that  true 
liberality  which  loses  itself  in  service  without  sacrificing 
its  own  character.     There  is  nothing  bigger  in  the  re- 


MEMORIAL  TO  FATHER  THROOP  AND  DR.  CONGER 

ligious  world  than  Universalism,  it  has  room,  for  all 
truth  and  inspires  to  all  service,  but  if  it  is  to  hold 
anything  and  render  any  service,  it  must  have  some- 
thing to  hold  it  in  and  something  with  which  to  serve. 
The  opportunity  has  come  to  the  Universalist. 
Churches  on  the  Pacific  Coast  at  this  time,  when  the 
religious  lines  are  unfixed  and  religious  thought  is 
ranging  wide  in  search  of  the  truth,  to  say  to  the  world, 
in  the  language  of  our  real  leader  of  to-day,  "Here  is 
the  best  thing  in  sight,"  to  say  to  the  whole  world,  "Be- 


46 


A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 


hold,  we  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall 
be  to  all  people,"  our  unique  message.  We  rejoice  in 
the  fine  record  of  our  churches  at  Riverside  and  Santa 
Paula,  but  we  must  look  ^pon  them  not  simply  as  results 
of  missionary  endeavor,  but  as  beginnings  only  of  the 
larger  life  there  is  yet  to  be.  The  time  has  come  for  our 
Church  to  grow,  and  there  is  no  better  place  than  on  the 
Pacific  Coast.  We  look  to  our  Pasadena  church  to  re- 
sume its  leadership  to  larger  things;  we  look  to  the 
present  hour  as  crucial,  and  with  faith  and  confidence 
we  await  its  call  of  its  new  leader. 


HOTEL  MARYLAND  PEKGOLA 


CHAPTER  V 

IN   OLD    MISSION   DAYS 

The  Convention  work  was  over  with  the  adjournment 
of  the  business  session  at  noon  on  Saturday.  There  re- 
mained but  the  banquet  in  the  evening,  which  lured  like 
a  climax  to  our  joys,  the  dedication  of  the  Los  Angeles 
Church  on  Sunday  morning,  the  climax  of  missionary 
endeavor,  and  the  Mass  Meeting  at  Pasadena  in  the 
evening,  the  climax  of  inspiration,  then  the  sight-seeing, 
when  Southern  California  was  to  be  our  own  until  such 
time  as  we  resumed  our  flight  to  San  Francisco  and  the 
whole  boundless  West.  But  meanwhile  there  was  the 
afternoon  made  ever  memorable  by  a  visit  to  the  won- 
derful Mission  Play  at  the  San  Gabriel  Mission. 

We  went  in  a  body — and  also  in  the  spirit — to  witness 
the  enacting  before  our  eyes  of  the  early  history  of  Cali- 
fornia, when  it  was  indeed  a  foreign  land.  Two  special 
trains  took  out  nearly  four  hundred  of  our  people, 
through  the  foot-hills  to  the  place  where  generations  ago 
the  Spanish  fathers  made  their  way  up  the  coast  from 
Mexico,  and  established  the  San  Gabriel  Mission, 
through  which  they  were  later  to  possess  the  land  and 
the  Indian  inhabitants  thereof,  and  form  one  of  the 
chain  of  Missions  extending  all  along  the  Pacific  Coast. 
It  was  a  form  of  peaceful  invasion  quite  different  from 
that  in  vogue  to-day,  and  while  there  is  no  question  but 
that  if  history  were  written  with  the  pen  of  exact  truth, 

47 


48  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

the  career  of  these  missions  would  reveal  many  stories 
of  cruelty  and  bloodshed,  yet  this  first  crude  step  to- 
wards civilization  was  a  necessary  step,  though  we  may 
wish  it  had  been  less  harsh  than  it  was.  There  are  no 
traditions  here  of  such  wholesale  brutality  as  that  of 
Cortez,  who  gloried  in  his  ''religious"  work,  when  he 
drove  together  thousands  of  the  Indians  in  IMexico  and 
gave  them  their  choice  of  being  converted  or  burned  at 
the  stake !  But  without  question  all  kinds  of  pressure 
was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  simple  natives,  not  only  to 
be  baptized,  but  to  make  generous  contributions,  and 
eventually,  under  direction  of  the  fathers,  to  build  the 
places  of  worship  which  the  years  have  but  ripened  in 
their  beauty,  and  established  as  the  enduring  monu- 
ments of  that  early  period  of  romance  in  the  making  of 
America. 

The  Spanish  architecture  of  that  early  time  fixed  it- 
self upon  our  Southwest  as  the  Colonial  fixed  itself  upon 
the  Northeast.  Each  has  endured,  partly  because  of 
the  artistic  sense,  and  partly  because  of  fitness  to  climate 
and  conditions.  The  passing  of  time  has  greatly  refined 
both,  sometimes  to  the  point  of  elimination,  but  as  there 
remain  old  Colonial  houses  in  New  J^ngland  strict 
enough  to  type  to  preserve  the  standards,  so  these  old 
Missions  stand  as  permanent  models  after  which  a  great 
deal  of  the  building  of  California  is  shaped.  And  this 
inheritance  has  given  this  corner  of  our  country  an 
artistic  touch  which  makes  winning  appeal  to  any  one 
with  a  bit  of  sentiment  and  imagination. 

But  we  were  out  to  see  the  past  reincarnated,  not 
simply  to  look  at  and  in  and  over  the  beautifulold  IMis- 
sion  building,  not  simply  to  people  the  spaces  with 
imaginative  figures,  but  to  see  the  real  men  and  women 


••EL  CAMINO  REAL" 

SAN   GABRIEL  MISSION 

SANTA  CATALINA 


50  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

of  the  ancient  time  walking  and  speaking,  loving  and 
hating,  intriguing  and  aspiring,  just  as  we  do  to-day, 
only  in  strange  accouterments  and  with  curious  speech, 

A  great  amphitheater  has  been  built  right  in  the 
shadow  of  the  old  Mission,  and  in  this  building,  which 
seats  several  thousand  people,  and  on  an  immense  stage, 
the  play  is  enacted  which  shows  the  three  great  steps  of 
progress,  from  ''The  Savage  Sensing  the  Approach  of 
His  White  Conquerors,"  past  ''The  Faded  Military 
Glory  of  the  Spanish  Conquest,"  to  "The  Consumma- 
tion of  the  Ever-living  Faith  in  the  Cross  of  Christ." 

We  entered  the  enclosure  and  were  directed  to  follow. 
El  Camino  Real,  the  King's  Highway,  which  has  been 
created  about  the  huge  building,  showing  in  facsimile 
the  series  of  Missions  which,  following  the  first  estab- 
lished at  San  Diego  in  1769,  were  placed  at  intervals  of 
forty  miles  along  the  coast,  which  became  centers  of 
religious  and  military  influence  and  control.  As  we 
passed  along  the  highway  we  had  a  chance  to  really 
study  the  different  Mission  buildings  as  they  are  to-day 
in  a  more  or  less  perfect  state  of  preservation.  For 
those  old  padres  knew  how  to  build  for  endurance,  and 
it  is  doubtful  if  anywhere  in  America  the  earliest  types 
of  buildings  are  so  well  preserved,  and  many  of  them 
date  back  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Grouped 
together  as  these  Missions  are  with  their  geographical 
setting  reproduced,  though  in  miniature,  an  opportunity 
was  afforded  to  get,  within  half  an  hour,  a  knowledge 
of  California  Missions  which  could  not  otherwise  be 
secured  in  months  of  travel. 

And  then  we  entered  the  auditorium,  which  was  dim 
with  a  scarce  twilight  light,  and  there  discovered  that 
the  way  to  see  the  outside  Missions  in  true  perspective 


IN  OLD  MISSION  DAYS  51 

and  coloring  was  through  the  open  windows,  and  every 
spare  moment  between  the  acts  of  the  play  was  occupied 
in  feasting  the  eyes  upon  most  realistic  pictures;  while 
we  were  the  guests  of  San  Gabriel  Mission,  we  were  pre- 
sented with  all  the  others. 

To  tell  the  story  of  the  play  which  has  been  based  on 
the  wonderful  book  by  John  Stephen  McGroarty,  "Cali- 
fornia, Its  History  and  Romance,"  adapted  by  the 
author  himself,  would  take  too  long.  But  beginning 
with  the  scene  at  San  Diego  when  the  expedition  from 
Mexico  has  reached  a  period  of  starvation  and  probable 
extinction,  the  retreat  is  held  back  by  the  faith  of  Fray 
Junipero  Serra,  who  pleads  for  one  more  day's  delay, 
being  sure  that  help  will  arrive,  and  when  the  day  is 
granted  he  goes  to  the  hill-top  to  pray,  and  all  day  long 
he  is  at  his  devotions,  while  the  others  are  preparing  to 
depart,  and  then,  in  the  last  minute  of  the  last  hour,  the 
miracle  is  performed,  and  up  out  of  the  sea,  seemingly, 
rises  the  relief  ship,  and  California  is  saved.  Then  fol- 
low the  other  leading  incidents,  all  set  with  fidelity,  and 
each  dramatic  situation  unfolding  itself  before  us.  It 
was  a  wonderful  piece  of  work  and  marvelously  well 
done,  and  gave  in  a  couple  of  hours,  to  the  thousands 
who  saw  and  heard,  more  of  the  history  of  the  state  than 
could  have  been  secured  through  years  of  study  in  the 
conventional  school. 

Many  asked  me  how  it  compared  with  the  Passion 
Play  at  Oberammergau ;  but  they  are  not  comparable. 
The  Passion  Play  is  a  product  of  three  hundred  years 
of  growth  and  training,  this  Mission  Play  is  as  a  mush- 
room beside  it.  The  former  is  on  a  vaster  scale  and  is 
set  in  the  open,  while  this  is  enclosed.  The  former 
appeals  with  peculiar  power  to  the  religious  sensibilities, 


52  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

the  latter,  while  also  Roman  Catholic,  and  clustering 
about  the  church,  is  more  historic  and  romantic.  But  it 
is  good  to  have  seen  both,  for  after  all  the  eye  is  the 
widest  open  door  to  the  soul,  and  these  mighty  events  in 
the  unfolding  of  our  destiny  as  individuals  and  peoples, 
entering  thus,  possess  us  in  giving  us  a  new  possession 
of  them. 

Out  of  this  afternoon  amid  the  earlier  years  of  Cali- 
fornia history,  there  comes  to  me  the  suggestion  that  a 
supreme  opportunity  awaits  our  own  Church  at  its 
birthplace.  To  reproduce  the  ''miracle"  of  Father 
Junipero  Serra  is  deemed  worth  the  great  expenditure 
of  time  and  effort  and  money ;  why  should  not  we  of  the 
Universalist  Church  produce  the  not  less  miraculous 
incident  of  the  landing  of  John  Murray  and  his  greeting 
by  Thomas  Potter  and  the  birth  of  the  Universalist 
Church,  on  the  very  scene  of  its  enacting  at  Good  Luck, 
N.  J.?  The  year  1920  will  be  the  one  hundred  and 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  landing  of  Murray ;  why  may 
we  not  have  the  entire  event  reproduced  in  a  pageant  of 
such  splendor  as  to  attract  the  attention  and  attendance 
of  multitudes?     Think  this  over. 


A   PASAUEXA    liU- 


CHAPTER  VI 

SAN   DIEGO   AND   ITS   EXPOSITION    GEM 

To  touch  the  details  of  the  "After  Convention  Pro- 
gram," as  the  period  of  pleasure  was  called,  would 
require  that  this  series  of  sketches  be  extended,  if  not 
beyond  the  ability  of  the  writer,  certainly  beyond  the 
patience  of  the  reader,  and  therefore,  assuming  that 
every  hour  was  filled  with  interesting  incident  which 
was  not  filled  with  rest,  a  very  few  of  the  greater  fea- 
tures are  to  be  touched  upon. 

The  visit  to  the  San  Diego  Exposition  was  an  after- 
thought. When  the  program  of  our  days  was  completed 
it  was  found  that  we  could  have  a  day  at  the  Little 
Exposition,  and  from  all  reports  such  a  day  was  not  to 
be  missed  without  exceeding  loss  on  our  part.  Further- 
more, the  management  of  the  Exposition,  eager  for  our 
attendance,  set  apart  Tuesday,  July  13,  as  "  Universalist 
Day."     Of  necessity  we  must  be  there,  and  we  were. 

There  is  this  to  be  said  about  any  party  on  a  tour, 
that  if  it  is  well  managed  and  no  one  changes  his  mind 
and  wants  something  different,  there  will  never  be  any 
trouble.  But  mostly  we  like  to  change  our  minds,  and 
make  new  plans,  and  then  it  is  hard  for  us  to  understand 
why  it  is  that  engagements  at  hotels  and  in  sleepers  can 
not  be  broken  in  America  as  easily  as  scraps  of  paper 
are  in  Europe.  Thos.  Cook  &  Son  proved  themselves 
most  satisfactory  managers,  and  in  a  wide  canvass  of 

53 


54  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

our  members  since  the  return  we  have  had  but  votes  of 
commendation.  The  management  even  went  beyond 
the  fixed  requirements  of  the  tour,  and  so  far  as  was 
possible  adapted  the  arrangements  to  the  desires  of  their 
guests.  This  San  Diego  trip  was  not  included  at  first, 
but  when  a  vote  by  mail  was  taken  indicating  that  about 
two  hundred  wanted  to  go,  hotel  reservations  were 
shifted  to  sleeper  reservations,  and  we  were  enabled  to 
surrender  our  beautiful  rooms  at  the  ]\Iaryland  on  i\Ion- 
day  night  and  take  the  midnight  special  to  San  Diego, 
where  we  arrived  in  the  early  morning. 

The  Universalist  pastor  of  the  Unitarian  Church  in 
San  Diego,  the  Rev.  H.  B.  Bard,  had  been  working  all 
the  week  with  our  people  to  get  them  to  go,  and  he 
arranged  that  the  morning  was  to  be  spent  on  a  tour  at 
Point  Loma,  the  home  of  the  theosophical  cult  of  which 
Madam  Katharine  Tingley  is  the  high  priestess,  not  only 
to  see  the  fine  buildings  and  grounds  of  this  society,  but 
more,  to  take  a  voyage  out  into  the  Pacific  on  a  sight- 
seeing automobile !  For  Point  Loma  is  a  long  arm  of 
land  projecting  out  into  the  ocean  and  forming  one 
boundary  of  the  wonderful  San  Diego  harbor,  one  of  the 
finest  in  the  world.  From  the  hotel  the  route  was 
through  4;he  business  section  of  the  city  and  then  the 
outskirts,  where  we  saw  the  strange,  to  us  from  the  East, 
but  frequently  beautiful  homes  of  those  who  abide  in 
this  semi-tropical  land.  It  is  about  eight  miles  around 
the  head  of  the  bay,  and  as  we  swung  across  towards 
our  goal,  the  highland  of  Point  Loma,  we  got  moving 
pictures  of  the  city  and  the  harbor,  over  which  several 
aeroplanes  were  flitting,  and  across  the  straight  line  of 
our  vision  over  the  water,  we  could  see  the  moving 
target,  drawn  by  a  motor  boat,  upon  which  the  guns 


SAN  DIEGO  AND  ITS  EXPOSITION  OEM     55 

from  the  fort  were  practising,  the  projectiles  throwing 
up  fountains  of  spray  as  they  plunged  into  the  waves. 

Good  roads  wind  in  and  out  among  the  small  hills  on 
the  Point,  and  we  alternately  were  looking  down  upon 


PICKING  ORANGES 


the  Pacific  Ocean  on  our  right  and  the  bay  and  harbor 
and  city  on  our  left,  until,  beside  the  old  Spanish  light- 
house of  unnumbered  years,  we  alighted  to  wander  to 
the  brink  of  the  cliffs  and  look  away  upon  one  of  the 
fairest  scenes  in  all  America.     There  are  few  cities  more 


56  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

fortunate  or  more  beautiful  for  situation  than  San  Diego 
as  viewed  from  the  extreme  of  Point  Loma.  Right  be- 
neath us  is  the  narrow  entrance  to  the  harbor,  which  is 
completed  by  another  long  point,  this  time  of  sand,  ex- 
tending from  farther  down  the  coast  out  to  almost  meet 
the  one  on  which  we  were  standing,  and  back  of  this  is 
the  great  harbor,  perfectly  protected  and  large  enough 
to  float  all  the  navies  of  the  world — certainly  what  will 
be  left  of  them  when  the  submarines  finish  their  work! 
Beyond  the  city  are  the  plains,  once  a  desert,  now  luxur- 
iant with  fruit  and  grain  harvests,  and  yet  farther  on, 
clothed  in  the  thinnest  veil  of  mist,  the  San  Bernardino 
mountains.  To  the  right  there  is  the  Pacific  in  all  its 
majesty  of  greatness,  for  there  is  nothing  to  interrupt 
the  view  until  it  reaches  the  end  of  our  world,  where  sea 
and  sky  blend  in  an  indefinable  line.  Sometimes  it  is 
said  that  there  are  islands  to  be  seen  far  away,  but  for 
us  there  was  nothing  to  break  the  flight  of  the  imagina- 
tion, or  to  mar  the  picture  of  vastness  which  we  were  to 
carry  back  to  the  Atlantic  coast. 

We  drove  back  through  the  beautiful  grounds  of  the 
Society,  and  were  privileged  to  be  guided  by  members, 
young  men  students,  to,  though  not  into,  the  buildings, 
and  into  the  upper  seats  of  the  gem  of  the  collection, 
the  Greek  Theater,  where  we  questioned  the  young  man 
about  the  history  and  purpose  of  the  society,  and  got 
very  direct  but  hardly  illuminating  answers.  Perhaps 
it  is  the  mystic  atmosphere  of  the  place  which  took  pos- 
session of  us  and  stole  away  our  senses,  but  two  things 
impressed  themselves  upon  me : 

First,  that  the  whole  thing  was  abnormal,  and  second, 
that  the  abnormal,  under  skillful  management,  is  about 
the  best  paying  article  on  the  market!     Fourteen  years 


SAN  DIEGO  AND  ITS  EXPOSITION  GEM     57 

ago  Madam  Tingley,  a  disciple  of  Blavatsky  in  theoso- 
phy,  took  up  this  point  of  land,  then  but  a  waste  of  rock 
and  sand  and  sage  brush,  and  gathered  about  her  a 
group  of  people,  many  of  them  of  superior  intelligence, 
many  of  them  with  money,  and  she  has  transformed  the 
desert  into  a  garden,  and  set  in  it  buildings  of  striking 
architecture  and  decorated  within — judging  from  the 
one  we  were  permitted  to  look  into,  though  a  rope  kept 
our  profane  feet  from  the  tessellated  pavement — with 
an  adaptation  of  Egyptian  figures  and  mystic  symbols,. 
There  is  a  school  for  training  young  children,  where  it 
is  assumed  that  the  last  person  to  be  entrusted  with  a 
child  is  its  own  mother,  and  a  college  for  those  of 
larger  growth,  where  the  teaching  is  all  voluntary,  and 
yet  it  costs  a  thousand  dollars  to  secure  admittance. 
Now  of  course  this  is  all  very  superficial  and  probably 
unfair,  but  the  point  is  that  any  strange,  and  especially 
freakish,  thing  if  clothed  in  mystery,  and  possessed  of  a 
leader  with  the  distinct  note  of  authority,  can  command 
the  money  to  accomplish  marvels.  We  are  glad  to  have 
the  marvels  to  look  upon,  and  we  enjoy  the  good  roads, 
and  the  beautiful  flowers,  but  some  of  us  are  so  consti- 
tuted that  we  can  not  enjoy  that  degree  of  self -surrender 
to  another  and  retain  our  self-respect,  which  is  of  more 
value  than  many  temples. 

The  shores  of  Point  Loraa  on  the  Pacific  side  are 
inexhaustibly  picturesque,  composed  of  a  soft  rock  which 
the  tireless  sea  through  the  ages  has  carved  into  weird 
forms  which  lift  their  heads  like  gnomes  above  the  waves, 
and  scooped  out  recesses  and  caves  which  tempt  the  ob- 
server's imagination  to  people  them  with  old  Spanish 
pirates.  But  instead  the  American  business  man  has 
taken  possession,  and  outside  of  the  grounds  of  the  Theo- 


k 

( 

r 

r 

1 

1       r 

CALlt-ORNIA  STATE  BUILDING  AT  THE  SAX  DIEGO  EXPOSITION 


SAN  DIEGO  AND  ITS  EXPOSITION  GEM     59 

sophical  Society,  the  baseball  king,  A.  G.  Spaulding  of 
Chicago,  is  developing  a  great  tract  into  a  future  play- 
ground for  the  nation.  And  what  Mr.  Spaulding  is 
doing  for  that  small  section,  Mr,  Spreckels  is  doing  for 
the  whole  city  of  San  Diego,  until  it  seems,  on  a  super- 
ficial view,  that  here  is  being  created  a  heaven  for  those 
who  have  nothing  to  do,  and  have  money  enough  to  in- 
dulge themselves  in  idleness  and  receptivity !  There  is 
another  view  of  San  Diego,  which  is  the  real  view,  and 
the  Board  of  Trade  will  be  glad  to  tell  you  all  about  it, 
in  which  we  see  the  development  of  the  ideal  of  the  little 
farm  well  tilled,  and  the  little  home  of  large  content. 
San  Diego  quite  made  us  captive  by  its  charms  of  climate 
and  scenery  and  products  and  people,  and  if  Brother 
Bard  will  just  listen  for  the  call  of  the  Lord  to  some 
other  promising  field,  we  prophesy  there  will  be  a  pro- 
cession of  candidates  hitting  the  trail  for  the  jewel  city 
of  America ! 

But  the  Exposition  is  the  thing !  And  right  at  the 
start,  I  want  to  say  that  the  difference  between  the  San 
Diego  Exposition  and  the  others  is  just  the  difference 
between  a  strawberry  and  a  watermelon !  Both  are 
good,  but  while  there  is  more  of  the  watermelon, — it  is 
not  a  strawberry.  People  have  been  wondering  why 
San  Diego  had  an  Exposition  at  the  same  time  that  San 
Francisco  made  its  appeal  to  the  world,  and  the  answer 
is  that  San  Diego  did  not ;  she  had  hers  before  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  she  will  have  it  after,  and,  incidentally,  all 
along  the  wa.v.  The  San  Diego  Exposition  is  different 
from  every  exposition  which  has  ever  been  since  the 
world  began — it  never  had  a  debt !  It  opened  on  time 
with  everything  in  place  and  all  paid  for.  It  is  worth  a 
trip  of  three  thousand  miles  to  see  such  a  phenomenon. 


60  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

But  there  are  other  differences  which  are  of  even  greater 
merit  which  come  as  a  continual  surprise  from  the  time 
we  enter  the  gate.  The  buildings  are  a  distinct  de- 
parture from  anything  ever  before  conceived.  The 
dominating  ideal  was  to  reproduce  the  elements  of  the 
old  Spanish  architecture  with  refined  lines  and  with 
adaptation  to  the  practical  needs  in  showing,  not  simply 
the  products  of  the  world  as  other  Expositions  have,  but 
more  particularly  the  process  by  which  they  are  pro- 
duced. There  is  a  radical  difference  between  showing 
a  pyramid  of  tea  boxes  and  giving  away  sample  sips, 
and  showing  a  tea  plantation  growing  and  the  steps 
along  the  way  of  gathering,  curing,  packing,  distribut- 
ing and  serving  at  the  tea  table.  And  so  with  other 
things;  "process"  has  been  the  key  word  of  San  Diego, 
and  as  the  marvelous  buildings  are  mostly  built  to  en- 
dure, and  to  serve  as  a  perpetual  World's  Fair,  one  is 
led  to  study  both  the  exhibition  places  and  exhibitions 
from  a  new  point  of  view,  and  to  find  a  novel  and  endur- 
ing satisfaction. 

San  Diego  had  a  great  park,  great  in  area,  but  a 
desert  waste,  and  then  came  the  vision  of  its  unfolding 
possibilities,  and  to-day  there  is  a  miracle  of  transfor- 
mation, when  a  great  mesa,  which  is  Spanish  for  a  high 
plateau  with  abrupt  sides,  has  become  the  site  of  an 
idealized  Spanish  city,  with  nothing  lacking  to  make  it 
complete.  Whether  we  came  to  it  up  from  the  valleys 
now  clothed  with  every  species  of  vegetation,  or  over  the 
Puenta  Cabrillo  across  the  canyon,  we  find  ourselves 
gradually  enfolded  into  the  mystic  charm  of  a  Spanish 
atmosphere,  and  passing  the  gate  and  standing  at  the 
head  of  El  Prado,  the  main  street  of  the  Exposition, 
with  minds  and  hearts  prepared,  we  look  down  the  long 


SAN  DIEGO  AND  ITS  EXPOSITION  GEM     61 

avenue  with  the  expectation  of  a  child  at  the  opening 
of  the  Arabian  Nights, 

Would  it  were  possible  to  give  some  illuminating 
description  of  these  buildings,  but  they  defy  the  type- 
writer and  court  the  photographer.  And  there  is  such 
a  different  spirit  about  the  whole  scene;  none  of  the 
confusion  and  rush  and  roar  of  the  bigger  shows,  but 
just  the  right,  sleepy,  leisurely,  meditative  air  which 
takes  the  spirit  captive. 

After  our  return  from  the  drive  of  the  morning,  we 
had  scattered  for  luncheon  before  going  to  the  Exposi- 
tion grounds,  and  so  it  happened  that  a  little  group  of 
four  Universalists  entered  the  gate,  and,  in  duty  bound, 
bought  a  copy  of  the  daily  program.  We  glanced  over 
the  features  of  the  morning  and  then  came  to  the  hour 
of  cne-thirty,  and  read,  "Arrival  of  Special  Party  of 
Universalists!"  We  looked  at  our  watches,  and  it  was 
exactly  one-thirty,  and  behold,  we  were  it !  We  had  ar- 
rived on  time;  we  lifted  our  heads  a  bit  higher  and 
fcrmed  a  procession  of  four,  and,  no  longer  walking,  we 
marched  down  the  Prado! 

What  we  saw  would  take  a  large  volume  to  tell,  but 
ere  long  the  most  conspicuous  exhibit  was  the  official 
blue  badge  of  the  Universalist  delegates,  who  were  ar- 
riving in  ever  increasing  numbers,  so  that,  in  the  end, 
Universalist  Day  became  conspicuous,  and  an  officer  of 
the  Balboa  Guards,  as  the  guardians  of  the  public  peace 
are  called,  approached  me  with  the  reqilest  from  his 
chief  of  an  official  badge  to  file  with  the  records  of  the 
Exposition,  which  request  was  gladly  granted,  though 
the  demand  for  official  badges  had  nearly  exhausted  the 
supply. 

Going  down   El  Prado  to  the  Plaza   de   California, 


62  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

passing  the  main  exhibition  buildings,  all  of  which  are 
worthy  of  continued  attention,  we  come  to  the  gem  of 
the  whole  collection,  the  California  building,  which  for 
beauty  and  grace  and  historic  sentiment  has  never  been 
surpassed.  It  is  the  reproduction  of  an  idealized  Span- 
ish cathedral,  with  its  massive  tower  with  severe  lines 
until  the  drawing  together  for  the  spire  begins,  when  it 
blossoms,  literally  like  a  gigantic  yucca,  in  the  most 
elaborate  yet  always  delicate  ornamentation.  And  the 
front  of  the  main  building,  fearless  in  its  novelty,  shows 
an  arched  doorway  with  a  mighty  window  above  which, 
like  the  spire,  is  a  tropical  garden  grown  in  marble,  and 
all  this  set  against  a  background  of  perfect  simplicity. 
Here  one  could  linger  for  days,  not  simply  to  see,  but  to 
absorb  grace. 

Across  the  Plaza  is  the  unique  art  gallery,  which 
is  of  greater  worth  than  the  exhibit  within,  though  there 
are  some  good  examples  of  historic  American  paintings, 
and  not  far  away  the  Indian  Arts  building,  where  are 
gathered  specimens  of  the  handiwork  of  all  the  Southern 
Indians. 

But  I  can  not  pause  with  each  attractive  spot.  Here 
is  marvel  after  marvel,  all  joined  by  artistic  colonnades 
through  which  we  can  pass  from  one  to  another  without 
the  sun  lighting  upon  us,  and  through  which  one  could 
wander  for  a  season,  and  never  exhaust  the  charm. 
Perhaps  there  is  nothing  more  appealing  than  the  con- 
centration and  consequent  accessibility  of  these  exhibits. 
One  is  not  dependent  upon  artificial  transportation,  and 
yet  it  is  provided  in  a  novel  form.  Over  the  smooth 
pavements  there  is  rolling  constantly  the  Electriquette, 
a  little  wicker  electric  auto,  holding  two  people,  one  of 
whom  guides  it  with  a  lever,  as  it  dashes  along  at  a  rate 


SAN  DIEGO  AND  ITS  EXPOSITION  GEM     63 

not  exceeding  three  miles  an  hour,  which  is  the  speed 
limit !  "  It  is  to  laugh ! "  at  first  sight,  but  presently  the 
luxury  and  the  appealing  laziness  of  the  thing. win  over 
prejudice,  and  it  all  seems  fitting  to  the  whole  scene,  to 
slowly  and  silently  creep  about,  lost  to  time  and  sense, 
until  the  chill  thought  comes  that  you  are  paying  a  dol- 
lar an  hour  to  go  almost  as  fast  as  you  can  walk!  A 
couple  of  our  people  from  Rhode  Island,  tearing  about 
the  Plaza  in  one  of  these  vehicles,  paused  long  enough 
to  remark  that  "these  things  are  all  right  in  a  big  state 
like  California,  but  in  Rhode  Island  you  might  run  over 
the  border  at  any  minute  and  get  hurt!" 

Along  down  towards  the  end  of  the  ' '  Universalist  Day 
Program"  appeared,  "Dinner  at  the  Cristobal  Cafe  by 
the  party  of  Universalists ! "  and  at  the  Cristobal  Cafe 
we  appeared  in  groups  of  from  two  to  a  dozen,  and 
tempted  Providence,  by  attempting  various  Mexican 
offerings,  but  coming  forth  alive  to  spend  the  evening, 
as  the  exhibition  buildings  were  closed,  upon  ' '  The  Isth- 
mus,"  as  the  Amusement  Concession  is  called.  Per- 
haps it  is  just  as  well  that, our  space  is  exhausted,  lest, 
lingering  too  long  amid  the  frivolities,  we  miss  the  train 
which  at  midnight  is  to  set  us  on  our  way  over  the  Coast 
Route  to  San  Francisco,  and  adventures  new. 


CHAPTER  VII 

"el  camino  real" 

Not  one  of  us  left  Southern  California  without  regret 
that  we  could  not  stay  longer,  and  we  are  assured  that 
some  of  the  people,  at  least,  in  Southern  California, 
regretted  our  going,  but  Itineraries  are  like  the  laws  of 
the  Medes  and  Persians,  and  must  be  obeyed.  And  it  is 
fortunate  that  this  is  so,  for  we  have  discovered  that 
thereby  we  are  often  blessed  in  spite  of  ourselves !  The 
independent  traveler  of  independent  means  and  inde- 
pendent time  may  see  some  things  better,  and  in  the  long 
run,  see  all  things  best,  but  for  those  of  the  common 
human  limitations,  there  is  no  place  in  all  life's  experi- 
ence where  co-operation  so  justifies  itself,  making  pos- 
sible for  most  of  us  the  otherwise  impossible.  It  is 
irksome  at  times  to  be  pulled  away  from  satisfaction  and 
delight,  because  way  back  there  months  ago,  we  tied 
ourselves  up  to  a  schedule,  and  yet  without  the  schedule 
and  all  the  far-reaching  plans  made  in  advance,  we 
should  not  have  been  there  at  all.  Of  course  there  must 
always  be  people  who  are  willing  when  the  sled  is  at  the 
top  of  the  hill  to  get  on  and  ride  down,  providing  they 
can  have  the  best  seat,  but  who  resent  indignantly  the 
invitation  to  help  drag  the  sled  up  to  the  top !  We  are 
always  sorry  for  them,  for  they  are  missing  so  much  of 
the  sweetness  and  light  and  worth  of  life.  But  we  must 
learn   this  great  lesson  of  co-operation  in   all  of  our 

64 


''EL  CAMINO  REAL"  .     65 

Church  work  if  we  are  to  win  any  conspicuous  success; 
team  work  is  the  winning  factor  everywhere,  and  that 
means  having  a  program  and  following  it.  In  our 
church  life  we  have  too  often  been  guilty  of  breaking 
away  from  the  Itinerary  which  in  more  or  less  of  wis- 
dom has  been  made,  and  sometimes  adopted  with  splen- 
did enthusiasm;  some  of  us  who  have  voted  for  it  have 


A  PACIFIC  BEACH 

been  the  first  to  violate  it,  and  too  often  it  has  been  true 
that  long  before  the  Itinerary  could  be  carried  out,  we 
have  with  enthusiasm  laid  it  on  the  shelf  and  adopted 
another!  There  is  a  very  big  lesson  for  us  to  learn  in 
this  great  Pilgrimage,  and  if  we  learn  it,  the  price  we 
have  paid  for  the  schooling  will  have  been  well  spent. 

This  homely  homily  was  suggested  to  me  at  the  close 
of  our  sessions  in  Pasadena,  when  having  seen  how,  by 


66  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIIMAGE 

all  working  together,  we  had  made  the  impossible  pos- 
sible, and  held  a  successful  convention  thousands  of 
miles  from  the  centers  of  our  strength,  and  we  had  all 
had  such  a  very  good  time ;  and  when  we  summed  up  the 
results,  individual  and  collective,  they  were  all  due  to 
our  working  together  for  a  common  purpose,  each  mak- 
ing little  or  big  sacrifices  of  personal  tastes  and  desires 
for  the  common  good.  And  so  we  faced  the  next  event 
in  our  Pilgrimage,  the  meeting  in  the  Exposition  at  San 
Francisco,  with  more  of  equanimity.  There  had  been 
many  anxious  hours  spent  over  that  meeting,  by  the 
committee;  it  was  a  serious  question  as  to  whether  we 
could  hold  our  people  together  for  an  occasion  so  por- 
tentous, but  after  our  experience  with  the  big  conven- 
tions, we  were  turning  our  faces  to  the  north  with  more 
of  confidence,  and  yet  not  without  perturbation,  for  to 
fail  to  measure  up  in  numbers  and  dignity  to  an  occasion 
of  such  possibilities  would  seem  like  a  disaster.  But  we 
were  away  to  the  field  of  our  opportunity,  as  in  the  early 
morning  our  "special"  pulled  out  of  Los  Angeles  for 
the  all-day  trip  to  San  Francisco. 

It  is  rather  hard  to  define  the  bounds  of  Southern 
California,  for  the  atmosphere  of  that  delectable  land 
enfolds  one  through  a  long  day's  journey,  and  only 
passes  with  the  day,  when  we  climb  over  and  plunge 
through  the  mountains  about  San  Luis  Obispo  out  of  the 
daylight  and  into  the  dark,  and  still  it  lingers  in  beauti- 
ful memories  to  make  fragrant  the  years  to  come. 

One  of  the  charming  features  of  this  whole  tour  was 
the  unfailing  variety;  each  stage  of  the  journey  was 
different  from  every  other,  and  while  we  might  have  a 
choice  of  one  over  another  as  a  matter  of  personal  taste, 
yet  when  the  circle  of  our  flight  was  completed,  no  one 


''EL  C AMINO  REAL"  67 

could  omit  from  the  experience  any  incident,  without 
marring  the  whole.  The  fertile  plains  of  the  Mississippi 
and  Missouri  valleys,  the  deserts  of  Utah  and  Nevada 
with  their  weird  charm,  the  Southern  mountains  dwell- 
ing in  an  atmosphere  of  romance,  then  the  new  Garden 
of  Eden  where  amidst  flowers  and  fruits,  and  never  a 
serpent,  we  were  suffered  to  dwell  for  eight  precious 
days,  until  the  angel  of  necessity  drove  us  forth,  to  the 
marvels  of  the  Northland  with  its  crags  and  glaciers 
and  jewel  lakes.  No,  we  can  not  spare  anything  from 
our  glorious  summer. 

Those  sun-lit  hours  beside  the  sea  on  the  Coast  Line 
will  be  treasured,  because  of  their  own  worth  and  be- 
cause they  were  different.  We  were  a  reunited  family 
it  seemed,  for  while  we  had  been  together  at  the  hotel, 
yet  we  had  sort  of  got  the  train  habit,  and  enjoyed  the 
renewal  of  the  freedom  of,  for  the  time  being,  owning 
a  whole  train  of  cars.  And  there  were  new  things  to 
see.  In  half  a  century  a  new  world  has  been  created  on 
the  Pacific  Coast,  and  every  curve  of  the  railroad  brings 
to  view  new  scenes,  so  novel  and  so  beautiful,  that  our 
eyes  are  whirled  from  side  to  side,  seeing  much,  yet  con- 
scious of  missing  more. 

We  of  the  East  are  wont  to  think  of  California  as  the 
"Golden  State,"  because  of  her  contribution  of  gold  to 
the  world's  wealth,  but  while  that  metal  may  have  been 
her  commercial  beginning,  it  was  later  discovered  that 
the  golden  fruit  of  the  orange  tree  was  a  more  valuable 
possession,  and  even  while  the  adventurous  people  who 
crossed  the  Rockies  and  the  Sierras  were  enriching  them- 
selves with  these  products,  another,  even  greater,  was 
waiting  the  call  to  service.  There  is  a  striking  contrast, 
almost    shocking,    along   this    route;    from    within    the 


68  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIINIAGE 

closely  built  section  of  the  city  of  Los  Angeles  itself, 
twisting  here  and  yon  among  the  hills,  crowding  close 
to  fine  residences  and  pushing  into  the  harvest  fields 
and  orchards,  down  to  the  sea  and  really  out  into  the 
sea,  up  as  far  as  Santa  Barbara,  there  is  an  ever  enlarg- 
ing forest  of  derricks  with  their  slow  and  ponderously 
moving  pumps,  lifting  to  the  surface  each  year  more 
than  one  hundred  million  barrels  of  petroleum,  of  more 
than  double  the  value  of  the  gold  called  from  the  mines. 
Think  of  it;  one  hundred  millions  of  barrels  of  oil! 
Some  grease  spot!  No  wonder  that  California  slid 
easily  into  wealth!  But  to  us  these  dirty  and  smelly 
derricks  broke  the  harmony  of  the  view.  And  yet  I 
wonder  if  our  artistic  sense  would  have  been  so  shocked 
if  we  had  been  possessed  of  a  good  block  of  stock  in  those 
humble  wells?  But  we  enjoyed  the  unique  experience 
of  seeing  oil  pumped  out  of  the  sea,  outdoing  our  Yankee 
speculator  of  a  few  years  ago  who  failed  in  his  effort  to 
get  gold  from  sea  water!  But  beyond  the  derricks  and 
this  side  of  the  gold  mines  there  were  other  and  finer 
sources  of  income;  in  Ventura  County  they  are  said  to 
produce  more  beans  than  Boston  can  consume,  and  all 
the  way  north  to  where  Southern  California  ends,  wher- 
ever that  may  be,  each  spring  the  almond  and  apricot 
and  prune  trees  turn  thousands  of  square  miles  into  one 
vast  flower  bed,  and  later  pour  another  golden  flood  into 
the  laps  of  these  fortunate  Californians ! 

But  do  not  fancy  that  all  are  fortunate,  save  in  the 
fact  that  there  are  no  climatic  demands  for  clothing  and 
shelter  such  as  we  know  in  the  East ;  there  are  those  who 
are  poor  and  those  who  are  sick,  and  once  in  a  great 
while  some  one  dies,  but  on  the  whole  California  is  a 


"EL  C AMINO  REAL"  69 

very  good  place  to  visit,  when  you  have  friends,  a  very 
good  place  to  live,  if  you  can  afford  it,  and  quite  as 
good  a  place  to  die  as  any  I  have  yet  discovered !  But 
some  one  suggested :  "If  only  it  was  not  so  far  away ! ' ' 
And  I  thought.  So  far  away  from  what,  and  where? 
Isn't  it  curious  how  like  we  all  are  to  the  boy  in  the  story 
I  once  heard  James  T.  Fields  tell  to  the  boys  at  Tufts 
College.  This  boy  lived  in  a  little  seashore  town  way 
down  in  Maine,  and  in  the  summer  there  came  to  the 
town  a  young  man  from  New  York,  who  because  of  his 
clothes  and  superior  airs  made  himself  conspicuous,  and 
one  day  he  met  the  small  boy  and,  with  much  patronage, 
patted  him  on  the  head,  saying,  "Ah,  me  boy,  and  where 
do  you  live?"  And  the  boy  answered,  "In  that  little 
red  house  up  on  tlie  hill,"  and  then  trying  to  be  equally 
polite,  he  asked  the  young  man  where  he  lived.  The 
young  man  lifted  his  head  haughtily,  and  with  evident 
pride  answered,  "Oh,  I  live  in  New  York  City!"  The 
small  boy  gazed  upon  him  with  pity  for  a  moment,  and 
then  said,  "In  New  York  City?  I  shouldn't  think 
you'd  like  to  live  so  far  away!" 

That  day  along  the  Pacific  was  a  reversed  moving 
picture  show,  that  is,  we  were  moving  and  the  pictures 
were  stationary !  But  it  is  a  genuine  panorama  all  the 
way.  So  near  does  the  track  run  to  the  ocean  that  from 
the  car  window,  with  a  moderately  long  rod,  one  could 
troll  in  the  surf  for  yellow  tail,  though  he  would  stand 
more  chance  of  catching  a  kid  who  was  in  bathing !  But 
there  are  some  views  which  will  long  remain  with  us,  of 
sandy  beaches  and  picturesque  rocks  and  a  glorious  surf 
inviting  to  a  plunge. 

What  a  land  to  motor  through,  with  the  time  to  stop 


70  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

at  all  these  charming  towns,  each  with  its  own  peculiar 
attractions,  and  some  with  historic  values,  for  we  are 
following  "El  Camino  Real,"  the  "King's  Highway" 
along  which  more  than  a  century  ago  the  Spanish 
Fathers  built  their  Missions,  and  some  of  these  can  be 
seen  from  the  train,  but  whether  seen  or  not  as  we  pass 
through  the  town,  we  can  recall  them  from  the  facsimile 
we  so  recently  looked  upon  at  the  San  Gabriel  Mission 
Play,  and  see  the  setting  of  San  Buena  Ventura,  Santa 
Barbara,  San  Luis  Obispo,  San  Miguel,  San  Carlos  and 
others.  Some  of  our  party  were  fortunate  enough  to 
come  on  ahead  of  our  train  and  have  a  little  time  at 
Santa  Barbara  to  see  this  beautiful  city  and  ■  especially 
interesting  Mission. 

All  through  the  day  we  rode  along  just  far  enough 
above  sea  level  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  surf,  until, 
late  in  the  afternoon,  we  came  to  San  Luis  Obispo, 
where  a  spur  of  the  Coast  Range  pushes  smartly  out  into 
the  sea,  and  blocks  the  way  for  those  who  can  not  climb. 
But  the  train  without  a  pause  begins  to  climb,,  and  in 
the  next  thirty  miles,  through  tunnels,  and  creeping 
along  ledges  from  which  there  are  most  entrancing 
views,  we  rise  six  hundred  feet,  and  then  in  the  next  one 
hundred  miles  we  plunge  down  again  almost  to  sea  level. 
There  are  few  finer  bits  of  mountain  scenery  than  this 
one  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  just  before,  for  us,  the 
night  shut  down,  and  what  we  saw  of  JMonterey,  and 
Santa  Cruz,  and  the  big  trees,  and  Leland  Stanford 
University,  we  saw  by  special  excursions  out  from  San 
Francisco.  But  many  took  advantage  of  our  time  and 
abstracted  a  day  from  the  Fair,  to  see  the  beauties  of 
Del  Monte,  and  the  Santa  Cruz  big  trees,  which,  while 
not  equal  to  the  Mariposa  grove,  are  yet  big  enough  to 


"EL  CAMINO  REAL"  71 

satisfy  our  Eastern  eyes,  and  give  us  tales  to  tell  which 
will  cause  our  friends  to  look  askance  at  us! 

But  somewhere  along  in  the  darkness  our  train  was 
delayed,  none  can  tell  why,  so  that  instead  of  being 
in  San  Francisco  at  eight  forty-five,  as  was  intended,  it 
was  after  eleven  o'clock  when  we  wearily  climbed  on  to 
the  waiting  buses  to  be  taken  to  our  hotel.  The  ride 
through  the  brilliantly  lighted  streets  of  the  magnificent 
city  which  has  risen  from  the  ashes  of  the  great  fire,  was 
pleasing  even  to  our  dulled  spirits  and  wearied  bodies, 
for  we  saw  in  vision  immediate  rest  and  comfort  at  the 
hotel. 

Alas,  our  vision  was  soon  shattered !  We  were  a  big 
party,  nearly  two  hundred  of  us  pressed  into  the  office  of 
that  hotel  at  the  same  time,  and  the  time  was  near  mid- 
night! The  hotel  people  had  misunderstood,  they 
thought  we  were  some  sort  of  a. girls'  boarding  school, 
and  could  therefore  be  provided  for  in  blocks  of  from 
six  to  a  dozen  in  a  room.  They  did  not  know  how  to 
handle  such  a  crowd,  and  proposed  making  each  one 
register  in  the  one  book,  with  the  one  pen,  and  then  to 
assign  them  rooms  in  the  order  of  their  coming.  And 
had  there  been  no  interruption  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  some  of  us  would  be  standing  in  line  before  that 
desk  yet,  but  here  was  where  our  Cook  Conductor  arose 
to  the  occasion  and  took  command,  and  for  the  next 
two  hours  ran  that  hotel,  and  so  it  happened  that  we 
were  all  in  bed  in  very  good  rooms,  by  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning. 

But  there  were  some  experiences  before  that  time 
which  can  be  related — and  some  which  can  not!  Such 
mixings  are  seldom  seen  in  good  society.  One  lady 
finally  got  her  key  and  went  to  her  single  room  only  to 


72  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

find  it  already  occupied  by  three  other  good  and  sub- 
stantial single  ladies!  And  then  there  is  the  sad  ex- 
perience of  a  most  dignified  minister  from  Massachu- 
setts, who  secured  his  key  and  was  escorted  by  the  bell 
boy  to  his  room  only  to  find  it  occupied  by  two  ladies, 
who  cruelly,  he  said,  refused  to  let  him  in.  He  returned 
to  the  line  at  the  desk  and  ultimately  secured  another 
key  and  another  bell  boy,  but  alas,  this  room  was  also 
occupied  by  a  lady,  and  he  sorrowfully  wended  his  way 
again  to  the  office,  to  be  sent  to  another  room,  but  the  key 
would  not  go  in  the  lock  and  excited  voices  told  him  to 
go  away!  He  was  getting  weary  and  discouraged  by 
this  time,  so  in  desperation  he  proposed  to  compromise, 
but  his  proposition  was  vigorously  rejected,  and  he 
turned  for  the  fourth  time  to  the  office  and  was  seen  no 
more  till  breakfast  time,  when  he  refused  to  make  any 
explanations ! 

Two  ladies  secured  a  room  most  fortunately  early  in 
the  game,  and  though  they  noticed  a  large  valise  in  it 
thought  nothing  of  it  and  went  to  bed,  to  be  aroused 
some  time  later  by  a  knocking  at  the  door  and  a  man's 
voice  claiming  the  room,  but  the  ladies  were  stubborn, 
and  told  him  to  go  away,  as  they  had  gone  to  bed  and 
would  not  be  disturbed.  So  he  went  away.  The  next 
day  the  ladies  went  to  the  Fair  and  were  gone  until  late 
at  night,  and  on  their  return  found  their  door  locked, 
and  a  man's  voice  refused  them  entrance.  They  insisted 
that  it  was  their  room,  that  they  had  occupied  it  the 
night  before,  but  the  voice  sleepily  replied :  "I  know 
you  did,  you  had  it  last  night  and  now  it 's  my  turn,  and 
I  am  going  to  have  it  to-night!"  He  was  a  "regular" 
at  the  hotel,  so  new  arrangements  had  to  be  made. 


"EL  C AMINO  REAL" 


73 


But  all  things  came  right  in  the  end,  and  after  a  good 
breakfast  the  next  morning,  the  sun  shone  on  San  Fran- 
cisco, the  Exposition,  and  on  our  plans  which  hastened 
towards  the  climax  of  " Universalist  Day." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SAN   FRANCISCO   THE  PHENIX 

He  who  goes  to  San  Francisco  to  see  the  Exposition 
and  misses  seeing  San  Francisco  itself  has  sacrificed  an 
opportunity,  for  among  the  cities  of  the  world,  this  child 
in  their  midst  appears  as  a  prodigy  of  daring  enterprise, 
magnificent  achievement,  and  heroic  ideals.  To  those  of 
us  familiar  with  the  old  city  before  the  great  fire,  the 
new  seems  but  the  fabric  of  a  dream,  for,  with  the  knowl- 
edge that  within  a  few  years  that  whole  vast  area  had 
been  swept  clean  by  the  flames,  the  glory  of  the  new  in 
all  its  substance  and  beauty,  throbbing  with  healthful 
and  happy  life,  gives  a  new  definition  to  man's  mastery 
of  circumstances. 

I  sat  in  Union  Square  in  companionship  with  one  of 
our  ministers  from  a  prominent  church  in  the  East,  and 
who  has  traveled  nearly  the  world  over,  and  he  told  of 
standing  on  Nob  Hill  shortly  after  the  great  fire,  and 
looking  out  over  the  black  desolation  of  what  had  been 
so  recently  a  proud  city,  and  he  said  it  was  inconceiv- 
able to  him  how  it  could  be  possible  to  make  the  city  live 
again,  and  yet,  he  continued,  to-day  there  is  hardly  a 
trace  of  the  disaster !  All  about  us  rose  splendid  build- 
ings of  modern  design  and  construction,  through  streets 
with  exceptionally  fine  pavements  ran  a  system  of  cars 
unequaled  in  America,  largely  under  the  ownership  of 

74 


SAN  FRANCISCO  THE  PHENIX  75 

the  municipality,  and  scattered  over  the  city  were. doz- 
ens of  such  beautiful  parks  as  the  one  in  which  we  were 
sitting.  The  whole  thing  was  marvelous  in  our  eyes, 
and  it  was  to  be  counted  among  the  chief  attractions  to 
take  the  sight-seeing  tour  which  was  provided  in  our 
itinerary. 

But  while  we  sat  in  the  beautiful  little  park  by  the 
fountain,  we  talked  of  other  things,  of  our  recent  Con- 
ventions and  of  the  future  of  our  Church,  and  our  part 
in  making  that  future  what  it  should  be.  "We  might  not 
have  large  influence,  but  that  did  not  matter,  we  were  to 
do  our  part  to  set  our  Church  on  its  way  under  new  con- 
ditions. The  old  had  passed  away,  we  were  no  longer 
straining  against  the  current  of  opposition,  but  so  rap- 
idly was  the  religious  world  being  swept  along  in  the 
direction  of  our  ideals  that  there  was  danger  of  our  being 
swallowed  up  in  the  flood!  Surely  a  glorioUs  death  to 
die,  but,  far  better,  a  glorious  time  to  live!  But  what 
was  to  be  our  mission  ?  We  had  just  come  from  the 
First  Congregational  Church,  where  we  had  been  to  wor- 
ship and  to  hear  Dr.  C.  F.  Aked,  having  realized  that 
this  church  and  its  pastor  are  conspicuous  features  of 
the  life«of  San  Francisco. 

We  had  found  there  a  vast  auditorium  seating  thou- 
sands, and  yet  before  the  service  began  so  filled  was  it 
that  one  of  us  must  needs  be  seated  on  the  steps  in  the 
gallery,  together  with  many  others.-  And  we  had  joined 
in  a  plain  and  simple  service,  and  listened  to  a  sermon 
nearly  one  hour  in  length  which  held  the  attention  so 
that  not  one  of  the  thousands  moved.  It  was  what 
would  be  called  a  Gospel  sermon,  with  the  dominance 
of  optimism  and  confidence  and  an  appeal  for  personal 
religion  as  the  essential  factor  in  the  throbbing  life  of 


76  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

the  city  and  the  state,  and  the  hope  of  humanity.  After- 
wards we  spoke  with  Dr.  Aked,  introducing  ourselves  as 
" Universalists  from  the  East,"  to  which  carae  the  in- 
stant response  from  the  preacher,  "and  I  a  Universalist 
of  the  West."  And  that  is  what  he  is  in  his  thinking 
and  preaching;  though  not  joined  to  our  Church  he 
stands  there  at  the  head  of  the  greatest  congregation  in 
the  city,  a  heroic  figure,  fearlessly  proclaiming  his  con- 
victions. Later  I  heard  Dr.  Aked  again  when  he  pre- 
sided over  the  World  Congress  of  Religions  which  was 
held  at  the  magnificent  Civic  Center  of  the  city.  This 
Congress  was  molded  after  the  World  Congress  of  Re- 
ligions at  Chicago,  but  did  not  approach  that  historic 
gathering  either  in  numbers  or  dignity,  but  it  was  a 
significant  gathering  of  representatives  of  the  "Philos- 
ophy of  the  Great  Religions  of  the  World."  And  Dr. 
Aked  was  chosen  to  preside  over  the  opening  meeting, 
and  the  announced  title  of  his  inaugural  address  was, 
"The  Faith  of  a  Universalist."  His  definition  of  the 
term  Universalist  was  ours  in  a  very  general  way,  but 
not  specifically.  He  was  to  introduce  the  representa- 
tives of  the  world's  religions  and  they  were  to  tell  the 
things  they  stood  for,  to  outline  their  philosophy,  and 
Dr.  Aked  spoke  as  a  "Universalist"  among  them,  recog- 
nizing and  accepting  the  good  of  all,  and  the  thought 
that  the  Universal  God  had  spoken  to  His  children  uni- 
versally. In  this  gathering  there  were  to  be  no  sub- 
divisions of  the  great  divisions,  so  distinctions  between 
different  sects  were  lost  in  the  larger  views  of  the  whole 
bodies.  There  was  a  catholicity  and  genuineness  in  Dr. 
Aked's  address  which  would  have  seemed  to  set  the  seal 
of  the  spirit  of  fellowship  between  those  who  "stood  for 


SAN  FRANCISCO  THE  PHENIX  77 

what  is  good  and  true,"  but  it  is  unfortunate  that  par- 
tisanship flamed  in  some  of  the  addresses.  But  this 
big  Englishman  with  his  broad  faith  and  hearty  fellow- 
ship has  commanded  the  city  and  is  a  tremendous  power 
for  righteousness. 

And  this  man  and  his  work  reveal  that  there  is  a 
generous  hearing  and  support  for  a  Christianity  that 
is  liberal  and  Christian,  and  while  we  rejoice  in  his 
mighty  achievement  in  winning  thousands,  there  are 
many  more  thousands  in  this  city  who  are  astray  re- 
ligiously, awaiting  the  message  of  the  Universal  Gospel, 
and  making  their  silent  appeal  to  us  who  have  this  Faith, 
to  come  and  distribute  to  them. 

We  should  have  a  great  church  in  San  Francisco ;  our 
meeting  at  the  Exposition,  of  which  you  are  to  hear 
later,  demonstrated  that.  Several  times  Dr.  Shinn 
made  an  attempt  to  start  a  mission  here,  but  his  efforts 
were  fruitless  because  they  were  not  big  enough ;  one 
must  make  a  great  deal  of  noise  to  attract  the  attention 
of  so  big  a  city.'  Over  in  Oakland  we  had  a  church 
building  and  a  society.  Many  a  year  ago  I  preached 
there  to  a  good  congregation  on  one  Sunday,  when  no 
regular  service  was  being  held  but  the  church  was 
opened  for  the  occasion.  And  there  was  the  nucleus  for 
a  large  and  flourishing  church,  which  would  eventually 
have  reached  over  to  San  Francisco,  but  it  was  a  case  of 
which  we  have  so  many,  of  not  holding  on,  and  eventu- 
ally we  lost  both  the  society  and  the  building.  Had  we 
retained  possession  of  the  building  we  should  now  be  in 
a  position  to  revive  the  cause,  for  since  the  great  fire 
aero&s  the  bay,  Oakland  has  sprung  into  marvelous  life, 
values  have  gone  soaring,  and  instead  of  being  a  suburb 


78  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

of  San  Francisco  it  is  a  ^eat  city  of  itself,  and  becom- 
ing greater  every  day. 

When  I  think  of  what  we  might  have  done  in  missions, 
and  what  we  could  do  to-day  if  we  were  all  possessed  of 
a  sane  but  irresistible  missionary  spirit,  I  feel  that  this 
Pilgrimage,  which  has  revealed  that  when  we  really  want 
a  thing,  a  very  few  of  us  can  raise  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  to  get  it,  should  give  us  a  new 
self-respect,  and  stir  our  ambition  to  take  our  place 
among  the  living  forces  for  the  advancement  of  the 
truth  of  Christianity,  If  we  really  wanted  to  place  a 
church  in  San  Francisco,  as  a  few  of  us  wanted,  to  go 
there,  we  could  do  it;  if  we  really  wanted  to  place  our 
Gospel  of  Good  News  at  the  disposal  of  the  world  which 
needs  it  above  all  other  needs,  we  could  and  would  do  it. 
We  have  the  forces,  we  have  the  money,  we  have  the 
numerical  strength  to  make  this  next  year  memorable  in 
the  upbuilding  of  our  Universalist  churches  at  home', 
and  the  planting  of  new  churches  in  many  of  the  grow- 
ing centers  of  population  throughout  the  great  West. 
No  other  church  can  do  our  work  for  us,  we  are  called 
to  service.  The  opportunity  is  now,  and  every  Uni- 
versalist minister  and  every  Universalist  layman  is  sum- 
moned to  duty. 

But  I  have  been  carried  away  from  my  specific  theme 
of  telling  about  San  Francisco,  by  discovering  what  Dr. 
Aked  is  doing  with  our  Gospel. 

San  Francisco  is  a  museum  of  places  of  interest,  but 
I  can  pick  only  a  few  choice  specimens.  In  the  olden 
days  the  feet  of  the  tourists  turned  instinctively  and 
first  to  Chinatown,  and  it  was  not  surprising,  for  that 
section  presented  to  the  American  the  one  bit  of  un- 


SAN  FRANCISCO  THE  PHENIX  79 

diluted  foreign  life  and  experience  within  oiir  borders. 
Other  nationalities  without  number  were  grouped  in 
their  own  quarters  in  all  of  our  large  cities,  but  only  the 
Chinese  are  invulnerable  to  American  influences;  a 
Chinaman  remains  a  Chinaman  through  generations,  no 
matter  what  his  surroundings,  and  so  when  old  China- 
town came  into  being,  it  was  not  by  creation,  but  by 
transportation ;  a  small  section  of  old  China  was  taken 
up  and  set  down  in  the  midst  of  the  new  city,  right  in 
the  front  dooryards  of  the  newly  rich  who  had  built 
their  mansions-  on  Nob  Hill.  To  step  within  that  sec- 
tion, and  the  boundaries  were  sharply  marked,  was  to 
pass  out  of  America,  while  still  within  it,  to  find  faces, 
fcod,  clothing,  manners,  language,  crime  and  virtue,  all 
of  foreign  make. 

Then  the  great  fire  came,  and,  together  with  the  man- 
sions on  top  of  the  hill,  the  curious  old  rookeries,  with 
their  interminable  cellars  and  sub-cellars,  the  hives  of 
human  insects,  were  swept  away.  But  in  the  rebuilding 
of  the  city,  Chinatown,  which  had  become  so  much  a 
part  of  the  community  life,  held  to  its  old  quarters, 
while  the  mansions  of  the  rich  moved  back  to  the  next 
hill.  The  rebuilding  of  this  foreign  quarter  came  under 
the  direction  of  the  city,  and  was  made  to  conform  to 
i)uilding  laws,  and  to  some  extent  to  sanitary  conditions. 
The  buildings  erected  were  like  others  in  outward  ap- 
pearance at  first,  but  within  a  very  short  time  after  the 
flood  of  Chinese  swept  back  to  their  old  quarters,  they 
were,  in  considerable  measure,  transformed  by  decora- 
tion and  adaptation,  until,  with  the  revival  of  the  pe- 
culiar odors,  no  one  can  mistake  the  place,  and  as  of  old, 
tourists  are  taken  by  their  guides  to  see  the  marvels  of 


80  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

life  under  what  are,  to  us,  unlivable  conditions.  It  is 
an  adventure  worth  the  sacrifice  of  time  and  strength, 
and  fraught  with  little  danger  unless  one  penetrate  too 
deep  into  the  intricacies  of  the  celestial  life! 

It  is  curious  how  we  look  with  wonder,  and  sometimes 
with  disgust,  upon  other  members  of  the  human  race, 
just  because  they  are  different ;  we  are  thinking  that  our 
ways  are  better,  and  they  are  for  us,  but  it  is  no  farther 
from  our  gate  to  theirs  than  from  theirs  to  ours,  and 
we  are  not  quite  sure  we  know  and  have  all  the  best  yet, 
else  we  should  not  struggle  so!  But  we  must  admire 
the  courage  and  faith  of  the  missions  from  Christian 
Churches  which  push  into  the  very  heart  of  this  foreign 
life,  hoping  to  implant  a  few  seeds  of  the  Christ  spirit  of 
living  together,  however  different  the  dress  and  outward 
circumstance. 

To  pass  from  the  herding  of  the  Chinese  to  the  open 
of  Golden  Gate  Park,  is  like  going  from  gloom  to  day- 
light, but  the  transition  can  be  very  gradual  if  we  will, 
for  we  can  climb  up  to  the  new  ''swell"  residential  dis- 
trict at  the  top  of  Jackson  and  Washington  Streets,  and 
pass  by  some  of  the  most  strikingly  beautiful  homes  in 
the  world,  but  the  march  of  years  will  sweep  them  away 
in  time,  out  into  San  Mateo  County  and  over  to  Berke- 
ley, for  more  and  more  are  people  with  the  help  of  rapid 
transit  once  more  becoming  rural  in  taste  and  practise. 
But  the  homes  are  there  now  and  crown  the  hill  with 
beauty,  while  beyond  is  the  mighty  region  of  comfort  in 
the  miles  on  miles  of  none  the  less  homes,  though  housed 
in  less  of  magnificence. 

And  then  we  come  to  the  Park.  Like  everything  else 
in  San  Francisco,  it  is  unique.     There  was  nothing  in 


SEAL  ROCKS 

FOUNTAIN  OF  ENERGY 

AVENUE  OF  PALMS 


82  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

this  great  area  of  over  one  thousand  acres  to  be  pre- 
served save  the  contour  of  the  surface ;  it  was  a  waste  of 
sand  and  scant  underbrush,  a  field  for  the  artist  of 
imagination,  and  almost  beyond  belief  is  the  transforma- 
tion wrought ;  here  are  roads,  ideal  roads,  winding  round 
about  and  over  the  hills,  each  turn  disclosing  landscape 
effects  which  charm  the  beholder.  Flowers  in  this 
country  need  to  have  a  different  definition;  we  of  the 
East  judge  of  them  as  things  of  a  season  or  of  the  hot- 
house, but  here  they  run  riot,  and  seem  to  laugh  in  the 
very  joy  of  growing,  and  through  this  wonderful  park, 
the  lover  of  flowers  is  sure  to  have  new,  many  new  sensa- 
tions of  delight.  Here,  too,  are  the  Museum  with  its 
more  than  one  hundred  thousand  exhibits,  and  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  for  those  of  studious  turn,  while 
for  the  children  of  few  or  many  years,  there  are  play- 
grounds of  every  description ;  there  are  fountains  and 
lakes;  in  every  appropriate  arbored  niche  there  is  a 
piece  of  fine  statuary,  and  through  all  the  long  drive  or 
longer  walk,  it  is  a  game  of  hide-and-seek  with  beauty, 
until,  at  the  end,  we  face  the  broad  Pacific  Ocean,  and 
just  around  a  corner  the  famous  Cliff  House,  from  which 
we  look  down  on  the  Seal  Rocks,  where  of  old  and  in 
moderation  now  the  seals  rolled  and  barked  and  whined 
in  the  fulfilling  of  their  ideas  of  life,  and  incidentally 
gave  pleasure  to  the  spectator.  , 

But  our  ride  carries  us  on  around  through  the  Lincoln 
Park  and  the  Military  Reservation,  into  the  Presidio 
Reservation,  where  we  look  down  from  the  cliffs  through 
the  Golden  Gate  and  across  to  Mount  Tamalpais,  then 
on  down  the  descent,  through  verdure  hung  roads,  until 
we  come  to  the  high  walls  beyond  which  rise  the  towers 


SAN  FRANCISCO  THE  PHENIX 


83 


and  domes  and  minarets  of  the  gem  of  all  World  Exposi- 
tions, and  a  moment  later  we  are  set  down  at  the  Main 
Entrance  Gate,  and  the  lure  of  the  vision  within  is  not 
to  be  resisted. 


TIIEY   CALL   IT   A   TEA   HOUSE 


CHAPTER  IX 

EXPLORING   THE   EXPOSITION 

The  brilliant  young  aviator,  Mr.  Smith,  who  cavorted 
about  through  the  air  above  the  Exposition  daily  and 
nightly,  tempting  the  dislocation  of  the  necks  of  thou- 
sands of  innocent  spectators,  enjoyed  some  unique  priv- 
ileges to  offset  the  risks  he  took  and  the  dangers  he  en- 
countered. It  must  have  been  worth  a  good  deal  to  get, 
in  one  comprehensive  view,  the  marvelous  pictures  of 
this  City  of  Marvels,  which  has  been  called  into  being 
to  live  its  brief,  butterfly-life,  and  then  to  disappear, 
leaving  but  a  memory.  Mostly  visitors  were  enabled  to 
see  it  only  in  sections,  though  from  some  of  the  hill-tops 
of  San  Francisco  those  who  were  not  able  to  get  a  more 
angelic  view  could  look  upon,  approximately,  the  whole 
scene  which  this  latest,  if  not  the  last.  World 's  Fair,  has 
unrolled  beside  the  waters  of  the  bay,  and  just  within 
the  Golden  Gate.  And  we  who  saw  it  thus  looked  upon 
one  of  the  fairest  pictures  man  has  ever  created.  It  is 
astonishing  how  much  of  the  esthetic  and  the  romantic 
has  survived  the  materialistic  spirit  of  the  age ;  fifty 
millions  of  dollars  were  raised  out  of  the  commercial 
and  governmental  interests,  to  be  expended  in  such  a 
way  as  to  attract  people  enough  to  insure  a  reasonable 
return.  And  then  these  commercial  speculators,  with 
their  wise  knowledge  of  human  nature,  invoked  beauty, 
and  art,  and  music,  and  the  most  extravagant  fancy  of 

84 


EXPLORING  THE  EXPOSITION 


85 


the  human  mind,  with  which  to  lure  attendance.  We 
call  this  a  utilitarian  age,  but  the  most  striking  feature 
of  the  Exposition,  that  which  remains  most  fixedly  in 
the  consciousness  of  those  who  have  seen  it,  whether  they 
like  it  or  not,  is  the  Tower  of  Jewels,  and  yet  it  is  en- 
tirely useless, — except  to  look  at !  This  must  be  said  of 
so  much  that  is  here :  pictures,  and  statuary,  and  eolon- 


lALACE    OF    HORTICULTURE 


nades,  and  arches,  and  pinnacles,  and  'minarets,  and 
domes,  and  fountains,  and  flowers,  and  fireworks,  and 
flags,  and  frivolity!  Is  it  not  astonishing  that  these 
"hard  headed  business  men"  "waste"  so  much  money 
on  ' '  such  foolishness  "  ?  Or  is  it  not  possible  that  mostly 
we  have  turned  life  end  for  end,  and  lost  the  real  things 
while  trying  to  gather  that  which  becomes  of  value  only 
when  it  is  transmuted  into  the  esthetic?     Of  course  this 


86  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

Exposition  is  primarily  for  the  exhibition  of  tiie  material 
achievements  of  the  age,  and  we  shall  find  them  all 
there,  but  the  one  thing  which  will  abide,  and  make  this 
Exposition  distinctive  among  all  the  others,  is  the  unity 
and  beauty  and  harmony  which  we  shall  try  to  retain 
in  pictures,  but  which  must  ever  be  elusive  as  life. 

It  has  been  my  fortune  to  have  seen  all  the  great 
Expositions  since  the  Centennial  at  Philadelphia.  I  had 
my  doubts  whether  it  was  wisdom  which  conceived  of 
another  for  San  Francisco,  for  it  seemed  to  me  that  we 
had  already  reached  the  limit  of  ingenuity  and  ability, 
and  must  simply  repeat,  but  I  under-estimated  the  ca- 
pacities of  man,  and  came  here  to  find  something  new, 
and  to  discover  that  a  new  standard  had  been  fixed, 
which  is  sure  to  discourage  any  immediate  attempt  to 
achieve.  Of  course  the  exhibits  of  products  can  not 
change  very  much,  save  in  new  adaptations  and  increase 
in  quantity.  Resolved  back  to  beginnings,  everything 
we  produce  must  have  for  its  object  either  to  feed,  clothe, 
instruct  or  amuse  man !  It  was  the  same  back  in  '76 
at  Philadelphia,  the  same  at  Chicago,  Buffalo  and  St. 
Louis,  and  at  every  county  fair.  There  are  new  forms 
of  food  and  new  styles  of  clothes,  but  they  are  still  food 
and  clothes,  and  that  is  all.  There  are  new  methods  of 
instruction  and  attempts  at  amusement,  but  in  nature 
they  are  the  same.  We  see  progress  along  some  lines, 
but  never  away  from  the  fundamentals.  So  to  one  who 
has  seen  all  the  exhibits  for  nearly  half  a  century,  the 
display  inside  the  buildings  at  San  Francisco  brings  a 
measure  of  disappointment.  But  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  the  vast  majority  of  those  who  are  looking 
upon  these  exhibits,  are  themselves  new  exhibits!  That 
is,  they  are  new  lives,  looking  through  new  eyes,  upon 


EXPLORING  THE  EXPOSITION  87 

new  things,  and  the  comparison  they  are  going  to  make 
will  be  with  the  future,  rather  than  with  the  past.  But 
for  myself,  it  appeared  that  the  real  achievement  at 
San  Francisco  was  in  the  magnificent  architectural  con- 
ception which  has  here  been  worked  out,  so  far  exceed- 
ing anything  in  the  past  as  to  be  in  a  new  class. 

Manifestly  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  detailed  descrip- 
tion within  the  limits  of  a  brief  sketch,  and  as  a  matter  of 
fact  it  is  hardly  necessary,  for  so  much  beautifully  il- 
lustrated literature  has  been  scattered  broadcast,  that 
it  is  inconceivable  that  any  one  has  missed  the  chance 
of  knowing  almost  as  much  as  the  visitor  to  the  grounds. 
And  yet  because  of  its  genuine  beauty  and  worth,  and 
because  it  was  the  scene  of  one  of  the  great  achievements 
of  our  Church,  it  will  not  be  inappropriate  to  stroll  about 
fo.r  a  bit  in  this  artificial  fairyland,  to  revive  and  per- 
haps fix  some  of  its  features  in  our  memories. 

Passing  through  the  main  entrance,  only  the  blunted 
or  diverted  mind  can  fail  to  pause  to  take  in  the  mag- 
nificent sweep  of  form  and  color,  without  an  inharmoni- 
ous note.  It  is  difficult  to  determine  whether  the  gar- 
dens were  designed  to  fit  the  buildings,  or  the  buildings 
built  to  fit  their  emerald  setting;  any  way,  after  the 
glare  of  the  commercial  city,  the  spirit  finds  repose  in 
the  swing  of  the  eye  from  the  Festival  Palace  on  the 
right  through  the  arc  formed  by  the  Court  of  Flowers 
and  Court  of  Palms,  with  their  background  of  Exhibi- 
tion Palaces,  to  the  Palace  of  Horticulture  on  the  left, 
while  the  apex  is  formed  by  the  glittering  and  graceful 
Tower  of  Jewels,  and  through  that  we  look  into  the 
riches  of  the  royal  Court  of  the  Universe.  All  this 
sounds  very  un-American,  and,  save  for  some  sugges- 
tion of  the  old  Spanish- American  period,  the  w^hole  ef- 


88  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

feet  is  foreign,  not  connected  with  any  one  foreign  na- 
tion, but  rather  a  composite  of  the  dreams  of  all  in- 
stead of  the  reality  of  any.  And  yet  it  is  American,  for 
while  the  fixed  lines  of  art  control,  yet  the  combination 
is  new,  and  to  that  extent  it  is  a  new  creation. 

In  the  foreground  the  whole  spirit  of  the  Exposition 
is  embodied  in  the  "Fountain  of  Energy,"  where,  on  the 
sphere  of  the  earth  supported  by  the  waters  of  the  sea, 


COURT  OF  THE  UNIVERSE 

stands  the  triumphant  "Victor,"  symbolizing  the  con- 
quest of  earth  and  the  bringing  of  the  seas  together. 
Here  is  a  whole  exhibition  in  this  single  composition. 
So  numerous  and  so  varied  are  the  statues,  each  telling 
its  story  and  making  its  contribution,  that  hours  could 
well  be  spent  in  contemplation  of  this  majestic  work  of 
art.  And  yet,  while  I  looked,  and  looked  again,  I  no- 
ticed how  many  thousands  of  people  looking  over  and 


EXPLORING  THE  EXPOSITION  89 

around  passed  on  without  having  seen,  and  when  later 
I  questioned  a  seemingly  wide  awake  visitor,  I  was  told 
that  he  liad  never  seen  this  particular  fountain  though 
he  had  passed  in  at  that  gate  four  times,  and  out  as 
many !  That  is  the  way  with  most  of  us ;  some  things 
are  too  close  to  us  to  be  seen,  and,  again,  are  eclipsed 
by  others  far  less  worthy.  We  live  with  great  people 
in  our  own  homes  and  never  know  them,  because  they 
are  so  close,  or  because  of  the  glitter  of  our  neighbor 
who  sparkles  just  over  the  fence! 

But  even  while  I  criticise  my  fellow  visitor  because 
he  did  not  see  my  fountain,  he  is  very  apt  to  put  me  to 
confusion  because  I  missed  entirely  some  Court  or  Ave- 
nue or  Lagoon  where  he  found  delight.  After  all,  we 
are  mostly  foolish,  or  at  least  have  our  foolish  spots! 
We  find  some  choice  bit  of  life  and  lose  ourselves  in  it, 
and  a  great  big  world  of  delights  remains  undiscovered, 
and  we  are  very  apt  to  resent  the  different  tastes  of 
another  who  goes  exploring  paths  which  to  us  are  un- 
familiar. And  so  it  is  well  that  the  Exposition  is  so 
vast  and  varied,  for  each  can  have  pleasure  after  his 
kind,  and  none  may  monopolize  the  whole. 

I  saw  a  great  deal,  and  yet  I  am  continually  hearing 
of  the  things  I  did  not  see,  and  the  chances  are  if  I  were 
to  tell  of  all  the  things  which  came  within  my  range, 
yet  would  one  of  our  own  party  arise  and  prove  my 
poverty  because  of  something  I  missed  along  the  way. 

The  courts  about  which  the  buildings  are  grouped 
are  strikingly  beautiful,  and  each  affords  a  restful  and 
refreshing  stopping  place,  for  in  each,  after  its  own  pe- 
culiar genius,  are  displayed  works  of  art  of  real  artistic 
and  historic  worth.  Surrounding  them  all  are  colonnades 
majestic  in  their  size  and  beauty,  and  whether  we  look 


90  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

from  without  to  the  within,  or  from  the  within  to  the 
without,  or  sit  in  contemplation  of  the  beauties  enclosed, 
there  are  few  instances  in  the  world  where  a  graceful 
thought  has  found  a  more  graceful  embodiment.  In 
the  three  central  courts,  that  of  "The  Universe,"  which 
is  the  heart  of  the  whole  scheme,  the  Court  of  the  Sea- 
sons, or  the  Court  of  Abundance,  in  which  last  the  Cele- 
bration of  Universalist  Day  was  observed,  we  are  im- 
pressed with  the  magnitude  and  the  consistent  working 
out  of  the  thought  of  the  artist.  Looking  upon  the 
Arch  of  the  Rising  Sun,  which  forms  one  side  of  the 
Court  of  the  Universe,- we  see  a  creation  which  is  im- 
pressive in  its  majestic  proportions,  and  is  crowned  with 
a  group  of  statuary  representing  the  approach  of  the 
Nations  of  the  Kast  coming  to  greet  the  Nations  of  the 
West,  which  occupies  an  equally  conspicuous  place  on 
the  other  side,  while  in  the  center  there  is  a  fountain,  or 
rather  a  group  of  fountains,  of  such  vast  detail  of  sculp- 
ture and  ornamentation  as  to  forbid  description,  and 
from  this  center  we  look  out  past  the  exquisite  Column 
of  Human  Progress,  and  over  the  bay,  to  the  real  moun- 
tains miles  away,  but  all  so  softened  by  the  mists,  as  to 
blend  into  a  picture  of  rare  beauty. 

But  we  all  had  our  favorites  among  the  creations  of 
the  fairyland,  arid  mine  was  the  Palace  of  Art,  which 
is  not  surpassed  by  anything  in  this  country,  nor  in 
Europe  so  far  as  my  experience  goes.  A  little  apart 
from  the  more  material  interests  very  appropriately,  and 
separated  by  a  beautiful  lagoon,  surrounded  by  a  lux- 
uriance of  vegetation,  a  structure  has  been  erected 
which,  while  indebted  to  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  at  old 
Athens  for  suggestion,  is  yet  one  of  the  most  original 
conceptions  which  has  taken  material  form.     The  build- 


f 

4^  •-  -• 

ROUND  ABUl'T  THK  FAIK 


92  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

ing  takes  the  form  of  a  half  circle  over  one  thousand  feet 
in  length  with  an  impressive  entrance  at  the  inner  cen- 
ter, which  faces  a  rotunda  of  splendid  proportions  on 
the  very  brink  of  the  lagoon.  The  circle  is  followed  by 
a  colonnade  of  such  proportions,  in  height  and  sweep, 
as  to  surpass  anything  of  the  kind  ever  before  attempted. 
Each  Corinthian  column  is  in  itself  a  marvel,  but  all 
together  form  a  highway  so  awe-inspiring  that  even  the 
careless  must  approach  the  door  to  the  art  exhibit  with 
reverence.  At  the  foot  of  each  column,  and  wisely 
placed  amidst  the  shrubbery,  which  is  tropical  in  its 
profusion,  there  *are  innumerable  statues,  so  that  the 
visitor  is  enjoying  art  before  entering  its  palace.  I  have 
never  found  anything  in  the  way  of  a  building,  in  all 
my  world,  so  thoroughly  satisfactory,  furnishing  such 
enduring  enjoyment,  as  this  Palace  of  Art,  and  it  fills 
one  with  sadness  to  think  that  within  a  few  months  it 
must  pass  with  all  the  lesser  charms  of  the  Exposition, 
and  be  no  more. 

Of  the  exhibit  within,  I  have  not  the  space  or  the  abil- 
ity to  write,  other  than  to  say  that  there  is  a  very  marked 
difference  between  this  display  and  those  in  former 
World's  Fairs,  for  the  war  in  Europe  has  limited  the 
contributions  of  many  of  the  countries  rich  in  art  which 
have  heretofore  been  most  conspicuous.  However,  most 
of  the  countries  have  made  a  brave  attempt,  and  the 
collection  of  foreign  works  is  of  great  merit.  But  the 
conspicuous  effect  of  the  lessening  of  foreign  exhibits 
has  been  to  give  room  for  and  encourage  probably  the 
most  extensive  showing  of  American  art  which  has  ever 
been  made,  and  we  must  be  proud  of  our  nation's 
achievements.  Days  and  even  weeks  could  be  spent 
within  the  spell  of  this  Palace,  but,  as  with  most  of  the 


EXPLORING  THE  EXPOSITION  93 

visitors,  time  became  a  determining  factor  and  crowded 
me  along  to  other  attractions,  perhaps,  in  their  way, 
not  less  worthy. 

As  compared  with  other  Expositions,  the  San  Francisco 
Fair  is  small  in  area,  which  is  greatly  to  its  advantage, 
making  it  so  much  more  accessible.  But  by  the  time 
one  has  spent  six  or  eight  hours  going  about,  even  if  he 
has  been  assisted  on  his  way  by  the  ridiculous  little 
"Worm  Trains"  which  go  creeping  about  among  the 
crowds,  affording  a  most  practical  means  of  transporta- 
tion, he  welcomes  the  approach  of  darkness  and  turns 
his  face  towards  the  Esplanade,  extending  along  the 
shore  of  the  bay,  there  to  be  one  of  such  a  multitude  as 
is  seldom  seen,  and  watch  the  glorification  of  the  whole 
scene,  in  the  nightly  illumination. 

I  wish  it  were  possible  to  describe  this  mastery  of  light 
and  shade  and  color,  with  transformations  on  so  vast  a 
scale  as  to  be  almost  unbelievable,  but  one  can  only  give 
a  hint  as  a  reminder  to  those  who  saw,  and  a  suggestion 
to  those  who  did  not.  In  the  daylight  the  coloring  of  the 
buildings  is  very  restful  and  pleasing,  a  rich  cream,  with 
just  a  suggestion  of  tint  in  more  living  color,  si  most 
agreeable  change  from  the  glaring  white  to  which  we 
have  been  accustomed,  but  the  modifying  of  the  glare 
hastens  the  effect  of  the  darkness.  With  sixty  thousand 
people,  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  a  little  ^roup 
of  us  sat  in  the  deepening  twilight  and  watched  the 
Tower  of  Jewels,  the  massive  walls  of  the  buildings,  the 
warships  out  in  the  bay,  and  at  last  the  people  around 
us,  disappear  behind  the  curtain  of  darkness,  and  then 
in  a  few  minutes,  amidst  a  silence  which  commanded 
us  all,  we  felt  rather  than  saw  a  soft  glow  of  light  reach- 
ing farther  and   farther  through  the   colonnades,   and 


CALIFORNIA  BUILDING 


EXPLORING  THE  EXPOSITION  95 

deeper  and  deeper  into  the  arches.  There  were  no 
actual  lights  visible,  for  this  remarkable  effect  is  pro- 
duced by  indirect  illumination.  And  so  columns  and 
figures  and  faces  and  finally  buildings,  the  lofty  tower, 
and  the  ships  on  the  sea  were  born  anew,  and  then  out  in 
the  very  sky  above  us  there  swept  a  great  ribbon  of  light 
which  was  looped  and  twisted  into  all  sorts  of  fantastic 
forms,  and  we  knew  that  the  aviator  was  up  there  with 
his  aeroplane  outlining  his  gyrations  in  fire.  Then  of  a 
sudden,  from  the  gigantic  electric  plant  on  the  edge  of 
the  water  there  sprang  forth  the  long  fingers  of  the 
searchlights  feeling  through  the  air  until  they  found  the 
glistening  tower,  or  gilded  dome,  or  the  fleeing  aeroplane, 
and  then  held  them  for  our  amazed  sight,  only  a  second 
later  to  change  the  white  light  to  a  veritable  Niagara 
"of  colors  flowing  up  and  over  and  through,  until  we  were 
literally  engulfed  in  a  sea  of  glory  !  There  are  fireworks, 
too,  and  they  are  wonderful  of  their  kind,  biit  to  me  there 
has  never  come  to  my  eyes  a  spectacle  quite  so  wonderful 
as  the  illumination,  when,  in  this  new  and  beautiful 
world  which  man  had  conceived  and  created,  man  said, 
"Let  there  be  light."     And  there  was  light. 


CHAPTER  X 

/* UNIVERSALIST   DAY"   AT   THE  EXPOSITION 

"Universalist  Day"  at  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposi- 
tion will  be  memorable  in  our  history,  and  at  least  have 
a  place  in  the  enduring  records  of  the  Exposition.  It 
was  a  venture  of  faith  which  occasioned  many  anxious 
hours  on  the  part  of  the  committee,  and  questions  as  to 
its  wisdom  were  raised  by  many  who  were  able  to  appre- 
ciate not  only  its  opportunity  but  its  risks.  A  success 
would  mean  much,  a  failure  might  mean  more ! 

To  secure  a  "Day"  on  the  program,  certain  fixed  con- 
ditions were  to  be  met :  In  the  first  place  the  organiza- 
tion receiving  the  honor  must,  on  a  set  date  and  hour, 
appear  in  a  body  at  the  main  entrance,  to  be  met  by 
the  oflEicials  of  the  Exposition,  there  to  be  photographed 
by  the  official  photographer,  then,  under  the  lead  of  the 
Exposition  band,  to  march  in  procession  to  the  place  of 
meeting  in  the  Court  of  Abundance.  There,  after 
music  by  the  band,  an  address  of  welcome  to  be  delivered 
by  a  Commissioner  of  the  Fair,  to  which  the  president  of 
the  organization  is  not  only  to  respond  in  words  of 
courtesy,  but  to  deliver  an  address,  reciting  the  history 
and  purpose  of  the  organization,  which  address  is  to  be 
in  typewritten  form,  and  filed  with  the  officials  as  a 
part  of  the  permanent  records  of  the  Exposition.  After 
this  the  order  of  exercises  may  be  carried  out,  with  such 
speaking  and  music  as  may  have  been  provided. 

96 


"UNIVERSALIST  DAY"  97 

To  meet  these  conditions  in  such  a  way  as  to  dignify 
the  occasion  and  do  honor  to  the  Church,  at  first  seemed 
quite  impossible,  for  we  have  no  local  church  in  San 
Francisco  to  furnish  the  nucleus  for  such  a  gathering. 
We  had  taken  something  over  three  hundred  from  the 
East  to  the  Conventions  in  Pasadena,  but  many  of  these 
had  scattered  after  the  sessions  were  over,  and  others 
had  remained  for  a  more  extended  visit  in  the  South,  so 
that  only  a  part  of  our  delegates  were  with  us  in  the 
city,  and  to  add  to  our  discomfiture  it  was  found  that  the 
large  party  which  was  to  return  via  the  Yellowstone 
Park  would  be  obliged  to  leave  early  on  our  day,  as  the 
crowded  condition  of  the  Park  would  make  it  impossible 
to  secure  accommodations  otherwise,  so  we  were  to  lose 
a  large  group  of  some  of  our  most  prominent  members. 
It  did  not  look  like  the  gathering  of  a  very  imposing 
' '  body ' '  at  the  Main  Gate !  And  as  for  the  procession, 
I  was  reminded  of  the  little  girl  who,  being  invited  to 
some  entertainment,  said  she  could  not  go,  because  her 
"club"  was  to  have  a  procession  that  day  and  she  was 
to  lead  it !  An  interested  friend  asked,  ' '  How  many  are 
there  in  your  club  ? ' '  and  the  small  child  answered,  * '  We 
have  a  membership  of  three,  but  one  is  out  of  town  and 
the  rest  of  us  are  going  to  parade ! ' '  What  were  we  to 
show  in  the  way  of  membership?  The  humiliating  pic- 
ture was  presented  to  our  imagination  of  the  great  Ex- 
position band  of  thirty  pieces  leading  a  procession  of  a 
dozen  or  two  of  Universalists  in  observance  of  Univer- 
salist  Day !  I  confess  that  my  sleep  on  that  Saturday 
night  was  disturbed !  If  every  Universalist  we  knew  of 
in  the  city  were  to  "turn  out"  we  could  not  count  on 
more  than  two  hundred,  and  we  knew  that  some  of  these 
would  fail  us.     Our  day  had  been  well  advertised  in  the 


98" 


A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 


official  program  and  by  the  bulletins,  and  the  committee 
had  spent  some  money  and  hard  work  with  the  news- 
papers, and  circulated  announcements,  but  we  ap- 
proached the  hour  with  trepidation. 


COURT  OF  ABUNDANCE 


It  was  not  my  privilege  to  witness  the  gathering  at 
the  Main  Gate^  to  be  included  in  the  official  photograph, 
or  to  participate  in  the  procession.  At  the  time  I  was 
rather  doubtful  about  the  desirability  of  facing  the  pos- 
sibility of  humiliation,  but  since,  I  have  been  disposed 


"UNIVERSALIST  DAY"  99 

to  resent  the  fate  which  prevented  me  from  being  in  at 
the  beginning.  But  necessity  required  that  one  member 
of  the  committee  should  be  in  the  Court  of  Abundance, 
to  see  about  the  arranging  of  the  platform,  the  meeting 
of  the  choir,  and  to  greet  the  Commissioner  of  the  Ex- 
position who  was  to  extend  the  welcome,  so  it  transpired 
that  Dr.  McGlauflin,  the  chairman,  who  had  worked 
early  and  late  for  the  success  of  the  enterprise,  went 
forth  to  meet — ^what,  he  did  not  know! — while  I  re- 
mained to  await  the  coming  of — what,  I  knew  not.  I 
confess  that  during  that  half  hour  when  waiting  I  had 
several  chills  of  apprehension.  Here  was  this  vast  court 
in  which  fifty  thousand  people  could  easily  be  accommo- 
dated, and  which  was  not  infrequently  filled  to  hear  the 
concerts  by  Sousa's  band;  there  before  me  were  seats 
arranged  for  a  thousand  people,  and  as  the  hour  of  three 
o'clock  approached,  a  few,  mostly  strangers,  came  strag- 
gling into  the  seats,  until  there  were  about  eighty  of  the 
chairs  occupied.  .  It  was  a  place  in  which  a  crowd  was 
necessary,  an  individual  looked  so  small  against  the 
background  of  those  majestic  colonnades;  the  platform, 
far  bigger  than  the  auditorium  of  any  church,  its  back 
wall  formed  by  the  fine  north  tower  and  arch  of  the 
Court,  and  fronting  the  rows  of  seats  and  bacK  of  them 
the  beautiful  fountain,  was  itself  impressive.  There 
was  such  a  sense  of  bigness,  of  opportunity — truly  I  was 
in  the  Court  of  Abundance.  Could  we,  so  few  of  us, 
so  far  from  any  of  our  centers,  make  any  showing  at  all  ? 
The  Commissioner  arrived,  Mr.  Charles  A.  Vogelsang, 
and  introduced  himself,  and  immediately  asked  me  to 
tell  him  who  we  were  and  what  we  stood  for.  He  ad- 
mitted that  he  knew  we  were  a  religious  body,  but  beyond 
that  he  knew  nothing,  so  in  five  minutes  I  told  him  of  our 


100  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

name,  faith,  history,  work  and  purpose,  and  as  I  finished, 
he  said,  ' '  Why,  I  am  a  Universalist ! "  "  Then, ' '  I  said, 
''you  must  wear  our  badge,"  and  he  took  my  official 
badge  and  pin,  and  a  few  minutes  later  spoke  his  wel- 
come as  one  of  us. 

But  presently  came  the  sound  of  music,  and  I  looked 
across  the  Court  to  the  arch  on  the  other  side  to  see  what 
was  coming — would  there  be  fifty  or  a  hundred  ?  How  I 
hoped  for  at  least  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  go  with  the 
eighty  already  seated.  And  then  through  the  noble  arch 
swung  the  band,  followed  to  my  amazement  and  joy  by 
a  noble  procession.  On  they  came,  two  by  two,  led  by 
the  officials  of  the  Exposition  and  the  officers  of  our  four 
organizations,  to  the  number,  by  actual  count,  of  over  six 
hundred,  and  then  came  from  all  directions  those  who 
were  drawn  by  curiosity  probably,  or  by  the  music,  until 
more  than  a  thousand  people  were  present  during  some 
part  of  the  long  exercises. 

Where  did  they  come  from?  It  was  only  after  the 
exercises  were  over  that  I  could  answer,  but  then  there 
came  forward  so  many  strangers  to  ask,  "Is  there  any 
one  here  from  Bangor,  Maine?  I  used  to  belong  to  the 
Universalist  Church  in  that  city  years  ago.  Now  I  live 
just  out  bf  San  Francisco,  and  am  so  glad  to  see  some 
Universalists  again."  Then  another  asked  about  some 
other  place,  and  so  on  and  on,  until  it  was  revealed  that 
these  people  who  had  joined  our  procession  really  be- 
longed to  us.  And  here  were  hundreds  of  them  from  all 
over  Central  California  who  did  not  know  each  other, 
but  who  had  seen  the  notice  of  the  gathering  of  Uni- 
versalists and  came  to  again  refresh  their  souls  with  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.  What  a  revelation  of 
our  losses  through  failure  to  conserve  our  own !     What 


"UNIVERSALIST  DAY''    .  101 

a  revelation  of  present  opportunity !  In  hundreds  of 
places  throughout  the  West,  we  have  the  nucleus  for  a 
church.  And  in  San  Francisco  we  should  and  must,  in 
the  not  distant  future,  have  a  church  of  sufficient  size 
and  dignity  to  command  attention  and  proclaim  an  ef- 
fective ministry. 

But  the  great  audience  was  seated,  the  back  of  the 
platform  was  filled  with  the  musicians,  along  the  front 
were  ranged  the  Exposition  officials  and  the  officers  and 
trustees  of  our  four  organizations  participating,  and 
then  the  following  program  was  carried  out: 

Meeting  called  to  order  by  the  Rev.  Lee  S.  McCollester, 
S.  T.  D.,  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Gen- 
eral Convention,  Singing  of  ''America,"  by  the  con- 
gregation, led  by  the  Exposition  Band.  Address  of  Wel- 
come by  Mr.  Charles  A.  Vogelsang,  Commissioner  of  the 
Panama-Pacific  Exposition.  Response  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
McCollester,  with  address  on  ''The  Faith,  History  and 
Work  of  the  Universalist  Church."  Music  by  the 
Ladies'  Quartette,  Miss  Burns,  Miss  Pasmore,  Mrs. 
Graham,  and  Mrs.  DeLong,  Scripture  Lesson  and 
Prayer,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  H.  McGlauflin.  Address, 
" Universalism  and  Worldwide  Problems,"  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Marion  D.  Shutter.  Solo,  Miss  Althea  Burns.  Address, 
"International  Peace,"  the  Rev.  Frank  Oliver  Hall, 
D.  D.  Congregational  hymn,  "The  New  Age  Vision." 
Benediction,  the  Rev.  Frederick  A.  Bisbee,  D.  D. 

Most  of  these  addresses  we  have  published  in  the  Uni- 
versalist Leader.  We  regret  exceedingly  that  we  have 
not  a  stenographic  report  of  the  word  of  welcome  from 
Commissioner  Vogelsang.  As  an  address  of  its  kind, 
it  was  a  work  of  genius.  When  we  consider  that  ten 
minutes  before  its  delivery  the  speaker  had  to  confess 


102  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

that  he  knew  nothing  of  our  church,  we  recall  with  con- 
stantly renewed  amazement  his  comprehensive  grasp  of 
our  faith  as  the  Gospel  of  Optimism,  and  the  felicitous 
way  in  which  he  connected  our  philosophy  of  the  Uni- 
versal with  the  universal  purpose  of  the  Exposition.- 
And  all  said  in  less  than  ten  minutes.  We  who  feel  we 
are  called  to  speak  in  public  on  the  stage  need  to  take 
lessons  from  Commissioner  Vogelsang  in  return  for  the 
lesson  in  Universalism  he  so  graciously  took  from  us. 

We  were  fortunate  in  being  able  to  secure,  through 
Prof.  H.  B.  Pasmore  of  San  Francisco,  the  choir  of 
fine  voices  which  aided  so  much  in  the  religious  ser- 
vices. And  altogether,  we  can  take  great  satisfaction 
in  ''Our  Day." 

There  were  some  disappointments,  however,  and  we 
have  some  lessons  to  learn.  If  we  could  only  have  known 
in  advance  what  the  Day  was  to  mean  to  us ;  if  we  could 
have  dreamed  tha.t  six  hundred  people  would  seemingly 
rise  out  of  the  ground  to  hear  again;  or  for  the  first  time, 
the  message  of  Universalism,  the  program  committee 
would  have  been  a  little  wiser  in  making  up  its  program, 
not  necessarily  changing  the  speakers,  but  adding  to 
them  enough  others  to  have  secured  the  outlining  in  half 
a  dozen  ten^minute  speeches,  of  our  reasons  for  being 
on  the  earth !  We  had  a  great  opportunity  and  we  did 
well  under  the  circumstances,  but  we  should  have  done 
better.  We  did  not  know  that  a  San  Francisco  fog,  cold 
as  Greenland's  icy  mountains,  was  going  to  sweep  in 
through  the  archway,  when  our  meeting  was  about  two- 
thirds  over,  but  it  did !  You  may  not  know  what  a  cold 
San  Francisco  fog  is!  Well,  to  the  delicate  Eastern 
constitution  it  seems  like  the  liquefying  of  the  North 


''UNIVERSALIST  DAY"  103 

Pole  and  pouring,  the  same  down  the  back  of  your  neck ! 
Our  theology  was  not  Orthodox  enough  to  counteract 
it,  and  we  surrendered  and  missed  the  climax  of  the  oc- 
casion. But  perhaps  it  is  just  as  well;  I  do  not  think 
we  could  have  stood  any  more  glory  in  one  day,  but  next 
time  we  shall  be  better  prepared.  We  shall  know  what 
to  do  and  how  to  do  it. 

We  should  have  had  a  fine  exhibit  at  the  Exposition 
of  all  our  literature,  and  pictures  and  statistics  of  what 
we  have  done  in  the  way  of  missions,  education  and  social 
service.  We  could  not  have  invested  one  thousand  dol- 
lars to  better  etfeet  than  to  have  established  such  an  ex- 
hibit and  placed  it  in  charge  of  a  wise  manager.  We 
should  have  been  able  to  send  our  message  to  every  land 
under  the  sun.  We  struggle  so  hard  to  get  a  congrega- 
tion of  two  hundred  to  whom  we  want  to  impart  our 
Gospel,  wlien  by  the  use  of  literature  in  a  World's  Fair, 
we  can  reach  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people.  But 
we  must  think  in  larger  figures;  we  must  want  to  do 
something  big  enough  to  be  worth  while.  Instead  of 
asking  some  of  our  poor  people  for  a  contribution  of  a 
dollar  towards  making  an  exhibit,  we  must  expect  from 
some  of  our  rich  people  a  thousand  or  five  thousand  dol- 
lars to  do  the  thing  right.  We  know  there  are  those  who 
are  sad  as  they  think  of  the  members  of  our  little  church 
spending  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  on 
this  memorable  pilgrimage,  but  it  was  the  .best  invest- 
ment we  evSr  made.  If  three  hundred  of  us  can  raise 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  when  we  are  interested, 
then  the  three  hundred  thousand  members  of  our  congre- 
gations can  easily  raise  a  million  dollars  to  set  our  cause 
on  its  way  towards  that  success  which  will  mean  the 


104  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

world '-S  salvation.  We  do  not  know  our  possibilities, 
any  more  than  the  committee  of  arrangements  knew  that 
six  hundred  people  would  rise  up  out  of  the  ground  to 
worship  with  us  on  Universalist  Day  at  the  Exposition, 

The  official  photograph,  about  a  yard  in  length,  is  of 
historic  value.  Excellent  in  quality,  it  is  well  worth  the 
price  of  one  dollar,  showing  as  it  does  really  fine  por- 
traits of  the  hundreds  who  assembled  to  honor  themselves 
in  honoring  our  day.  In  the  front  row  appear  about  all 
of  the  officers  of  our  Conventions,  and  the  leading  men 
and  women  of  our  denomination. 

Universalist  Day  was  the  climax  of  our  tour.  Every- 
thing had  led  up  to  that,  and  mostly  our  people  had 
kept  in  line,  but  it  was  curious  to  see  how  there  were  some 
who  were  timid,  who  did  not  dare  to  take  any  risk  of 
humiliation,  and  they  kept  out  of  the  picture,  and  out 
of  the  procession,  and  came  in  on  the  side  a  little  later! 
This  is  one  thing  we  must  overcome,  this  separateness, 
this  exclusive  spirit  which  lingers  in  the  background 
until  others  have  won  success,  and  then  seeks  to  come  in 
for  a  share !  But  what  progress  we  have  made !  Never 
have  we  had  such  a  record  of  faithfulness  in  attending 
upon  the  sessions  of  the  Conventions  and  the  "post-Con- 
vention ' '  meetings,  even  amidst  such  temptations  to  stray 
as  were  never  before  presented.  We  glory  in  the 
achievements  of  the  Pilgrimage;  we  glory  more  in  the 
new  sense  of  what  we  can  do,  and  what  we  are  going  to 
do  from  now  on. 

Much  that  was  done  in  the  way  of  missionary  work, 
along  the  way,  going  and  coming,  has  not  yet  been  re- 
ported, and  will  not  be  until  the  General  Superintend- 
ent tells  the  story,  and  when  he  does,  it  will  occasion 
surprise  and  joy  to  know  that  when  I  haye  told  the  story 


^UNIVERSALIST  DAY" 


105 


of  the  trip  and  of  our  Conventions,  the  half  of  the  good 
work  has  riot  been  told.  But  for  me  there  remains  but 
the  pleasant  task  of  returning  the  Pilgrims  to  their 
Eastern  homes. 


THE   COLONNADE 


CHAPTER  XI 

PACING   HOMEWARD 

Had  not  ray  parents  thoughtlessly  refrained  from 
having  triplets  when  I  was  born,  it  would  have  been  a 
great  convenience  to  me  when,  at  the  dispersion  of  the 
Universalist  hosts  the  morning  after  "  Universalist 
Day,"  three  parties  took  three  different  routes  to  their 
Eastern  homes !  ]\Ianifestly  I  could  not  accompany 
them  all,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  I  did  not  accompany 
any  one  of  them,  so  at  least  I  can  occupy  a  neutral  posi- 
tion in  the  conflict  of  opinion  which  has  arisen  through 
each  party  claiming  it  had  the  best  time !  Generally  I 
have  found  it  the  part  of  wisdom  to  agree  with  a  re- 
turning tourist,  whether  European  or  American ;  having 
been  one  myself,  I  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  get  the 
other  fellow's  point  of  view.  Fortunately  I  am  a  sym- 
pathetic listener  to  the  tales  of  all  these  three  parties, 
because  much  of  the  ground  traversed  is  familiar  to  me 
through  going  over  it,  if  not  by  train,  then  by  post 
card  and  railroad  circulars!  And,  by  the  way,  much 
of  the  joy  of  the  modern  traveler  is  dampened  in  these 
days  by  the  flight  of  picture  postals  which  haunt  him 
with  their  truth  telling,  when  he  is  in  a  romancing 
mood !  The  returning  traveler  from  an  unknown  region 
has  been  under  peculiar  temptations  to  feed  the  eager 
wondering  of  his  hearers,  not  only  with  the  things  he 
really  saw,  but  with  those  far  greater  wonders  he  im- 

106 


FACING  HOMEWARD  107 

agined.  So  common  were  lapses  in  this  line  in  the  past, 
that  it  is  recorded  that  a  cautious  Scotchman  who  was 
to  introduce  a  somewhat  famous  lecturer  on  travel, 
said,  as  he  called  the  meeting  to  order,  ' '  With  your  per- 
mission I  will  open  the  meeting  with  a  bit  of  a  prayer, ' ' 
and  then  prayed,  "0,  Lord,  have  mercy  on  the  soul  of 
Thy  servant,  and  may  he  speak  the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth.  Amen."  And  then 
turning  to  the  lecturer  he  said  in  a  whispered  explana- 
tion, "You  see,  sir,  I  have  been  something  of  a  traveler 
mysel ' ! "  Now  every  one,  though  he  be  a  home-body, 
knows  so  much  that  it  is  difificult  to  tell  him  anything. 
But  there  is  a  great  advantage  to  be  enjoyed  by  the 
traveler  through  almost  any  portion  of  the  great  West, 
for  the  West  is  so  big,  and  so  varied,  that  after  you  con- 
clude you  have  seen  it  all,  you  are  just  about  ready  to 
begin  again,  and  even  those  who  may  not  have  departed 
from  the  customary  lines  of  travel,  can  yet  rejoice  in 
having  seen  something  which  no  one  else  has  been  able 
to  pick  up  along  the  well-worn  way.  And  another  fact 
which  is  vital  is  that  real  scenery,  the  majesty  of  nature 
in  her  more  rugged  moods,  does  not  exhaust  itself  in 
being  seen  over  and  over  again.  The  fact  that  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  marveling  eyes  have  gazed  upon  the 
weird  and  awful  grandeur  of  the  Grand  Canyon,  has 
not  taken  away  from  that  titanic  spectacle  one  atom  of 
its  power  to  thrill  the  sensitive  heart  and  artistic  sense 
of  the  soul  that  gazes  upon  it  for  the  first  time.  It  is 
one  of  the  glories  of  God  which  is  new  every  morning 
and  fresh  every  evening,  save  to  the  superficial  and  cal- 
loused soul  into  which  its  sublimity  can  not  sink. 

We  have  been  seeking  the  values  which  have  been 
returned  to  those  who  took  this  great  pilgrimage,  and 


^^J^,.^  , 


THREE  MOUNTAINS 
SIR  DONALD 


MOUNT  TAMALPAIS 


MOUNT  LOWE 


FACING  HOMEWARD  109 

we  are  apt  to  miss  the  greatest  value  of  all.  Of  course 
every  minister  who  was  fortunate  enough  to  be  of  the 
chosen,  is  sure  to  get  no  end  of  sermons  from  what  he 
has  seen,  and  many  of  them,  we  fear,  will  get  several 
lectures!  Through  all  the  years  to  come  their  sermons 
will  be  enriched  with  illustrations  gathered  along  the 
way,  and  their  conversation  punctuated  with,  "When  I 
was  in  the  West ! ' '  We  can  see  and  hear  what  they  got, 
but  the  real  riches  of  the  journey  came  to  these  young 
people  who  were  seeing  for  the  first  time,  who  had  not 
yet  put  on  the  glasses  of  the  critic,  and  who  now,  after 
it  is  all  over,  hesitate  and  stumble,  and  cry  out  in  their 
despair,  "Oh,  I  can  not  tell!"  Of  course  they  'can  not 
tell;  their  minds  and  hearts  are  like  a  jug  too  full  to 
pour !  But  the  wonder  and  worth  are  there,  and  will  all 
come  out  in  their  developing  life.  They  could  only  cry 
out,  "Oh!"  and  "Ah!"  or,  most  impressive  of  all,  keep 
silence,  as  they  stood  before  the  imperial  majesty  of  one 
of  the  mountains  of  the  Lord's  House,  but  the  impres- 
sion on  those  mobile  souls  will  never  die.  There  was 
more  of  genuine  education  for  the  young  in  the  month 
of  experience,  than  in  years  in  the  school  room  with  life 
and  scenery  at  second  hand. 

It  would  have  been  a  joy  to  keep  our  group  unbroken 
and  to  share  the  thrills  of  scenery  through  the  Sierras, 
the  Colorado  Rockies,  the  National  Park  and  the  Cana- 
dian Rockies,  but  of  course  it  was  impossible  within  the 
brief  limits  of  one  month,  and  therefore,  by  dividing, 
we  could  bring  home  a  composite  picture  to  which  each 
could  make  a  contribution.  And  those  on  one  route 
could  easily  follow  in  imagination  those  upon  another, 
and,  as  I  have  intimated,  the  unfettered  imagination 
serves  to  enrich  realities,  and  turn  commonplaces  into 


110  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

extravagances.  I  had  thought  to  gather  from  the  re- 
turned pilgrims  enough  of  details  of  all  the  journeys  as 
seen  through  other  eyes,  to  make  an  interesting  and  com- 
prehensive account,  but  I  presently  found  it  was  imprac- 
tical. When  I  asked  one  who  had  been  through  the 
Canadian  Rockies  for  interesting  incidents,  he  said, 
''Did  you  hear  of  the  experience  of  one  of  our  ministers 
who  grew  eloquent  over  the  splendor  of  the  scenery,  and 
tried  to  get  some  practise  for  his  next  lecture,  on  an  in- 
nocent and  inoffensive  native?"  No,  I  had  not  heard, 
and  this  is  what  he  told:  We  had  gone  a  little  aside 
from  the  beaten  path,  and  come  into  a  deep  valley,  or 
canyon,  or  cooley,  or  whatever  you  may  call  it,  where 
there  was  a  little  log  cabin,  with  several  small  children 
playing  about,  and  a  tough  looking,  fiercely  bewhiskered 
man  who,  if  not  a  native  son,  seemed  to  *have  all  the 
marks  of  the  soil.  He  seemed  kindly  and  commonplace 
enough,  and  cheerfully  gave  us  a  drink  of  water,  but 
was  a  little  shy  of  information,  and,  so  far  as  we  could 
see,  was  wholly  unimpressed  with  the  grandeur  of  the 
mountains  surrounding  his  home,  in  fact,  it  almost  ap- 
peared that  he  had  never  seen  the  splendors  in  the 
midst  of  which  he  was  living,  and  so  it  appealed  to  one 
of  our  ministers,  who  is  conspicuous  for  his  eloquence, 
that  the  man  should  be  enlightened  as  to  the  riches 
amidst  which  he  was  privileged  to  live.  And  so  he 
pointed  to  a  majestic  peak  and  remarked  upon  its  sub- 
limity, and  the  native  looked  up  to  it  as  if  seeing  it  for 
the  first  time,  and  confessed  it  was  a  pretty  big  hill,  and 
the  best  place  for  berries  in  that  section !  Undiscour- 
aged,  the  man  of  eloquence  began  again,  and  waving  his 
arms  with  comprehensive  gesture,  he  asked  if  the  glory 


FACING  HOMEWARD  111 

of  that  scene  never  unfolded  before  him  as  the  turning 
of  the  leaves  of  revelation.  "Have  you  never  seen  the 
lambent  flame  of  dawn  leaping  above  the  corrugated 
horizon  on  the  east?  Have  you  never  seen  the  sulphur- 
ous islets  floating  in  a  seat  of  fire  1  Have  you  never  seen 
the  shadows  of  midnight,  black  as  the  raven 's  wing,  blot- 
ting out  these  monstrous,  volcanic  creations  which  rim 
your  valley  ? ' '  And  then,  as  he  paused  for  a  reply,  the 
native  said  slowly  and  distinctly,  "Well  no, . stranger,  I 
hain  't  never  seen  none  of  them  things — since  I  signed  the 
pledge!" 

Now  taking  that  as  a  sample  of  what  I  could  get  from 
others,  I  am  thrown  back  upon  my  own  resources  for 
material  for  our  final  glimpse  of  the  Golden  West  and 
the  last  days  of  our  vacation  before  we  open  the  door  of 
home  and  begin  the  homely  task  of  paying  the  bill  for 
our  pleasant  outing. 

It  was  altogether  gratifying  that  we  could  hold  to- 
gether so  many  of  the  original  party  up  to  the  climax 
of  our  special  day  at  the  Exposition ;  that  the  supreme 
oHject  of  our  pilgrimage,  that  of  serving  our  Church, 
could  have  been  so  well  accomplished  as  to  not  only  make 
an  impression  upon  the  Pacific  Coast,  but  to  bring  into 
the  hearts  of  all  our  workers,  in  every  department,  a 
new  and  lively  sense  of  unity  for  a  larger  service.  There 
is  no  doubt  about  our  having  put  heart  into  our  workers 
in  the  West,  but  our  larger-service  is  the  awakening  of  a 
new  self-respect  in  our  Church  throughout  the  whole 
country;  we  have  revealed  to  ourselves,  and  to  others, 
that  we  are  capable  of  doing  large  things  in  a  large  way, 
we  have  revealed  to  ourselves,  what  some  had  begun  to 
doubt,  that  there  is  a  place  in  the  world  for  the  Uni- 


112  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

versalist  Church,  a  place  no  other  can  fill.  And  we  have 
learned  some  lessons  which  will  be  of  the  utmost  value 
to  us  in  the  future,  when  we  begin  to  do  some  of  those 
things  and  fill  some  of  those  large  places.  We  have 
learned  that  the  keyword  to  our  success  is  co-operation 
in  whatever  we  attempt;  that  we  must  learn  the  lesson 
of  self-sacrifice,  the  giving  up  of  our  own  particular 
hobby  when  it  is  for  the  general  good,  that  we  can  do 
these  great  things  only  as  we  all  join  in  and  give  our- 
selves to  them.  Of  course  we  can  figure  out,  as  some  did, 
how  they  could  do  some  things  cheaper,  and  see  some 
things  which  they  liked  pretty  well,  by  going  away  and 
flocking  by  ourselves,  but  that  is  not  the  way  the  world 
or  a  church  or  genuine  happiness  moves  forward.  We 
must  discover  that,  in  things  worth  while,  we  gain  only 
by  giving.  And  we  have  had  a  great  lesson  in  this  ele- 
mental factor  of  success. 

And  after  learning  our  lesson,  and  enjoying  our  school- 
ing, we  are  going  home  to  all  its  sacred  associations,  but 
with  a  larger  vision.  And  it  remains  for  me  but  to  take 
you  by  the  most  direct  route,  but  you  can  be  assured 
it  is  not  without  beauty  and  interest,  and  perhaps  as 
you  must  hear  from  others  about  the  other  ways,  this  one 
may  have  the  virtue  of  novelty.  And  as  my  group  of 
travelers  was  small,  and  all  are  pledged  to  endorse  what- 
ever I  may  say,  there  are  tempting  diversions  to  the 
wooing  of  which  I  may  not  say  nay. 

The  first  trans-continental  railroad  was  opened  when 
the  golden  spike  was  driven  which  joined  the  Union 
Pacific  and  the  Central  Pacific  roads  near  Ogden,  in 
Utah.  That  was  a  good  while  ago,  and  at  the  time  it  did 
not  seem  possible  that  there  would  ever  be  any  need  of  an- 


FACING  HOMEWARD  113 

other  line,  but  to-day  there  are  several  roads  which  have 
broken  through  the  mountain  barriers  and  tied  the  two 
oceans  more  firmly  together,  and  these  new  roads  with 
their  spirit  of  enterprise  have  magnified  to  the  traveling 
public  the  wonders  and  charms  of  scenery  which  they 
have  unfolded,  and  so  the  old  "direct  route"  has  been 
somewhat  obscured  by  the  glory  of  the  newer  routes. 
But  after  having  been  over  this  route  four  times  and 
over  all  but  one  of  the  other  routes  at  least  once,  I  want 
to  say  that  if  the  Ogden  route  could  be  freed  from  the 
disconcerting  and  disappointing  snow-sheds  through  so 
much  of  the  trip  over  the  Sierras,  it  need  ask  no  favors 
of  the  others;  even  if  the  management  would  kindly 
knock  out  a  board  on  the  line  of  the  eye,  or  hinge  the 
board  so  it  could  be  dropped  during  the  summer,  it 
would  add  at  least  a  million  to  its  assets  in  its  appeal  to 
the  tourist.  But  as  it  is,  one  can  enjoy  playing  hide  and 
seek  with  some  of  the  world's  grandest  scenery.  We 
come  to  it  in  such  a  natural  and  winning  way,  when, 
after  passing  through  the  Sacramento  valley,  we  begin  to 
climb  up  through  the  canyons,  we  watch  the  great  world 
unfolding  below  us,  and  then  plunge  into  a  veritable 
turmoil  of  rocky  peaks  and  chasms,  each  turn  opening 
new  scenes  and  wonders,  until  we  are  impressed  with 
the  mystery  and  magnitude  of  the  handiwork  of 
God. 

It  is  an  experience  long  to  be  remembered,  to  have 
really  climbed  over  a  wide  range  of  mountains,  and  you 
get  this  experience  in  the  Sierras  as  you  can  not  in  the 
Rockies,  for  there  the  approach  is  too  gradual.  Through 
the  daylight  we  climb  up,  we  poise  for  a  brief  moment 
on  the  summit,  and  then  plunge  down,  conscious  all  the 


114  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

time  of  the  incline  of  the  car,  so  steep  is  the  ascent  and 
descent. 

Just  over  the  summit  at  the  queer,  wild  western  city 
of  Truckee,  one  feels  the  lure  which  draws  one  still 
deeper  into  the  mystery  of  the  high  places,  to  where  rests 
the  brightest  jewel  of  the  Sierras,  Lake  Tahoe.  Mine  is 
but  a  memory-visit,  but  the  memory  remains  as  deep  and 
clear  as  the  waters  of  the  lake.  How  did  it  happen, 
this  great  body  of  water  near  the  top  of  this  majestic 
range  of  mountains?  Nothing  attracts  me  quite  so  much 
as  lakes,  not  simply  because  there  are  possibilities  of 
fishing,  but  because  water  is  such  a  near  approach  of  the 
material  to  the  living,  and  in  Tahoe  water  is  at  its  best 
— the  great  area  of  the  surface  surrounded  by  heavy 
timber  to  the  water's  edge,  and  back  farther  the  moun- 
tain peaks,  often  snow-capped  in  the  midst  of  summer, 
unbroken  through  the  circle  of  the  horizon.  And  then 
the  depths!  So  clear  is  the  water  that  the  bottom  is  as 
clearly  seen  at  seventy  feet  as  the  mountains  through 
the  rare  atmosphere.  I  tried  to  compare  Tahoe  with  the 
lakes  in  the  Ea.st,  with  those  of  Switzerland  and  Italy, 
but  Tahoe  is  incomparable;  I  believe  it  is  the  most  beau- 
tiful sheet  of  water  in  the  world,  and  for  those  who  can 
break  the  trans-continental  journey  with  a  few  days  on 
its  shores  or  sailing  over  its  surface,  there  is  an  undy- 
ing experience  of  beauty  and  satisfaction. 

From  Truckee  there  is  a  coast  of  hundreds  of  miles 
down  the  Truckee  River  canyon  and  out  on  to  and  across 
the  desert  of  Nevada  and  Utah,  until  we  strike  the  Great 
Salt  Lake,  as  weird  as  Tahoe  is  beautiful.  This  we  cross 
by  the  now  famous  "Cut-off"  on  which  the  train  literally 
goes  to  sea,  even  as  it  does  on  the  Key  West  road  off  the 


FACING  HOMEWARD  115 

soiitli  of  Florida.  It  is  novel,  this  going  to  sea  in  a  Pull- 
man, but  it  is  an  illustration  of  the  spirit  of  "get  there" 
which  dominates  the  age.  We  must  spend  millions  of 
dollars  in  order  to  cut  out  a  couple  of  hours  from  a 
journey  of  five  days.  We  wonder  at  the  venturesome- 
ness  of  men  who  are  willing  to  risk  the  millions,  but  we 
must  remember  that  we  who  travel  and  pay  the  freight 
pay  this  bill  also,  and  we  do  not  notice  the  millions,  Jae- 
cause  our  personal  share  is  so  small ! 

p]ast  of  the  Rockies,  the  trans-continental  journey  is 
like  marriage  in  books ;  it  is  the  end  of  the  story !  We 
follow  the  hero  and  heroine  through  the  chapters  of 
their  trials  and  tribulations,  we  give  them  our  sympathy, 
even  our  tears,  and  then  when  we  have  kept  them  com- 
pany right  up  to  the  wedding  day,  the  door  is  slammed 
in  our  faces  and  we  are  out  in  the  cold !  Perhaps  be- 
cause we  are  not  to  know,  or  already  know  too  much. 
Just  so  the  returning  pilgrim  from  the  Pacific  Coast 
is  enthusiastic  until  he  slips  down  into  the  Mississippi 
valley  with  its  monotonous  levels,  so  rich  in  production, 
so  poor  in  variety ; — the  story  is  done,  the  book  is  closed. 

Perhaps  it  is  a  good  place  to  close  ray  story  of  this 
great  Church  enterprise  which,  started  with  such  timid- 
ity, carried  on  with  such  faith,  has  culminated  in  such 
an  unqualified  success.  Naturally  to  so  humble  a  tale 
there  should  be,  as  was  the  fashion  in  olden  times,  an- 
other chapter  of  moralizing,  but  I  have  the  happy 
thought  of  referring  you  all  for  all  possible  morals,  to 
the  editorial  department  of  the  Leader  during  the  suc- 
ceeding months,  for  the  riches  of  this  pilgrimage  are  not 
to  be  exhausted  in  any  one  telling.  I  might  go  on  in- 
definitely, but  I  prefer  to  emulate  the  Irish  orator,  who 


116  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIIVIAGE 

after  talking  for  three  hours,  closed  by  saying,  "I  am 
not  through,  but  I'm  done!"  And  I  am  done,  save  for 
an  attempt  to  follow  stumblingly  some  of  the  other  Pil- 
grims on  their  homeward  way. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   JOURNEY   I   DID   NOT   TAKE 

So  many  of  our  people  returned  by  the  northern 
routes,  that  this  record  would  be  incomplete  were  we  not, 
in  spirit  at  least,  to  follow  and  share  with  them  the  ad- 
ventures and  joys  which  seemed  the  culmination  of  this 
remarkable  pilgrimage.  To  me  much  of  the  territory 
traversed  has  been  made  familiar  through  former 
journey ings,  and  so  with  the  help  of  other  eyes  I  shall 
go  again  over  old  paths,  and  eyen  into  those  that  are  new. 
And  after  all,  I  shall  only  be  doing  what  we  are  all  do- 
ing all  the  time;  it  is  such  a  little  world  we  see  and 
know  until  it  is  multiplied  and  magnified  through  others. 
The  journeys  I  have  taken  through  others  going,  the 
things  I  have  seen  through  others  seeing,  the  things  I 
have  known  through  others  knowing,  swell  my  own  small 
experiences  into  a  life  worth  living.  And  there  is  yef 
another  advantage  to  the  indirect  method ; — we  have 
the  unpleasant  screened  out  while  the  good  remains.  Of 
course  there  are  bound  to  be  some  shadows  on  every  path 
— they  were  very  real  and  very  serious  when  they  fell 
on  me — but  so  soon  are  they  lifted  that  they  seem  never 
to  have  been,  and  so  when  I  see  through  others'  eyes  and 
hear  through  others'  ears,  if  I  choose,  my  journey  may  be 
through  ways  of  pleasantness  and  paths  of  peace.  And 
I  so  choose. 

There  are  two  ways  north  from  San  Francisco,  prob- 

117 


118  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

ably  more,  but  two  ways  generally  chosen  by  travelers. 
One  is  by  sea,  and  how  well  I  remember  my  experience 
on  that  voyage  many  years  ago.  It  was  just  after  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  the  Klondike,  and  accidentally  we 
were  caught  in  the  mad  rush  which  nearly  overwhelmed 
the  first  steamer  to  sail  after  the  news  reached  SaA 
Francisco.  And  we  were  in  the  rush  ;  our  innocent  pleas- 
ure trip  to  British  Columbia  was  rudely  interrupted  by 
this  scramble  after  gold.  The  ship  was  so  jammed  with 
men  and  mules  and  munitions  that  it  was  almost  im- 
possible to  move,  and  to  get  to  the  dinner  table  one  must 
sit  on  the  companion  stairs  from  breakfast  time !  But 
in  spite  of  discomforts  we  came  safely  into  port.  The 
voyage  is  different  to-day,  and  as  I  take  it  over  with 
some  of  our  party,  without  the  fret  of  buying  tickets, 
and  getting  state-rooms  and  taking  chances  of  being  sea- 
sick, I  discover  that  the  boats  are  bigger  and  better  and 
faster,  and  there  is  the  excitement  of  a  contest  with  the 
railroad  train,  which  in  the  valley  just  over  the  Coast 
Range  is  speeding  to  Portland,  and  we  get  there  in  just 
the  same  time. 

There  is  a  bit  of  a  thrill  to  the  Easterner  in  being 
afloat  on  the  great  Pacific  Ocean,  which  separates  us 
from,  and  joins  us  to,  the  mighty  and  mysterious  East- 
ern Hemisphere.  "We  shall  never  be  quite  so  local  again  ; 
our  horizon  has  been  extended  and  all  our  standards  of 
judgment  must  be  reset.  The  waters  of  the  Pacific  do 
not  differ  greatly  from  those  of  the  Atlantic,  but  even  a 
twenty-four  hours'  sail  upon  them  will  shatter  a  lot  of 
our  littleness.  A  wide  view  on  the  waters  of  a  wide 
ocean  has  a  suggestion  of  the  transforming  power  of  a 
wide  view  in  theology,  and  I  am  sure  all  our  young  peo- 
ple who  have  enlarged  their  horizon  by  this  trip  will  be 


VIA  SHASTA  ROUTE  TO  CANADA 


120  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

more  appreciative  of  the  splendid  liberty  and  glorious 
perspective  of  their  Church. 

But  mostly  our  party  followed  the  scenic  Shasta  route, 
and  there  is  nothing  better,  however  different.  Very 
often  we  make  a  mistake  in  comparing  or  contrasting 
scenery  instead  of  enjoying  each  bit  on  its  merit.  The 
mountain  that  is  fourteen  thousand  feet  high  may  not 
have  the  charm  of  the  one  that  is  only  ten  thousand,  for 
all  these  measurements  are  from  the  sea  level,  and  the 
mountain  of  ten  thousand  feet  rising  directly  from  the 
sea,  as  a  matter  of  scenery,  is  higher  than  the  one  of  four- 
teen thousand  feet,  if  the  latter  is  only  to  be  seen  when 
the  observer  is  himself  five  thousand  feet  high  before  he 
looks.  It  all  depends  upon  our  point  of  view  in  judg- 
ing mountains — or  men. 

There  is  a  certain  amount  of  satisfaction,  whether  jus- 
tified or  not,  in  having  our  prophecies  fulfilled.  When 
the  pessimists  were  foretelling  our  suffering  from  the 
heat  in  the  south  country,  I  maintained  that  we  should 
suffer  more  in  the  north,  and  that  is  the  way  it  turned 
out,  for  the  first  really  oppressive  heat  was  experienced 
that  first  night  up  through  the  Sacramento  Valley  and 
the  next  day,  through  the  beginnings  of  the  northern 
mountains.  But  in  spite  of  the  oppression,  the  pano- 
rama unfolding  as  the  train  sped  on  held  the  literally 
breathless  attention.  Mount  Shasta  is  the  shifting  cen- 
ter of  all  the  pictures,  for  with  atmospheric  conditions 
favorable,  this  marvelous  Mountain  of  the  Lord's  House 
appears  and  disappears,  and  with  each  new  appearance 
presents  some  new  face  and  charm.  For  half  a  day  we 
are  in  its  companionship,  and  once  we  stopped  seemingly 
almost  at  its  foot,  but  really  miles  away,  to  drink  of  the 
Shasta  Spring  whose  waters  are  pushed  upward  in  a 


THE  JOURNEY  I  DID  NOT  TAKE         121 

most  graceful  fountain,  and  then  on  into  the  very  heart 
of  timber-clad  mountains,  whose  sides  are  scarred  here 
and  there  by  mining  enterprises,  till  we  crossed  the  state 
line  of  Oregon  and  swept  down  into  the  beautiful  city 
of  Portland,  to  be  the  guests  of  our  own  church  people. 

The  story  has  already  been  told  of  that  day,  and  yet  we 
must  repeat,  in  the  words  of  one  of  our  keenly  observing 
young  people,  that  the  reception  was  one  of  the  bright 
spots  in  the  whole  trip.  In  this  great  commercial  center 
and  beautiful  residential  city,  we  found  that  there  had 
been  builded  a  Universalist  church  which  was  a  real 
church;  in  location  and  architecture,  and  the  memory 
of  the  historic  laying  of  the  corner-stone  by  President 
Taft,  it  had  won  a  commanding  place  in  the  community. 
Dr.  Corby,  the  pastor,  led  his  people  in  a  whirlwind  of 
hospitality.  An  Oregon  lunch,  largely  of  salmon  and 
loganberry  pie,  and  a  drive  which  was  showered  with 
the  roses  which  "bloom  every  month  in  the  year,"  made 
memorable  the  hours,  and  left  enriching  recollections. 

From  Portland  the  way  was  through  Tacoma  to 
Seattle,  the  latter  being  the  stopping  place,  but  a  few 
returning  to  Tacoma  for  a  service  in  our  church,  which, 
under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Morgan,  has  won  a  notable 
and  enduring  success. 

Tacoma  and  Seattle  have  only  one  great  mountain  to 
divide  between  them — in  the  former  place  you  must 
speak  of  it  as  Mount  Tacoma,  in  the  latter  as  Mount 
Ranier,  unless  you  would  invite  questioning  glances — 
and  yet  it  has  beauty  enough  for  both  if  either  the  smoke 
or  the  fogs  do  not  veil  its  face.  Some  were  fortunate 
enough  to  see  the  veil  lifted,  disclosing  an  ideal  peak. 

One  of  the  pleasantest  features  of  the  itinerary  was 
disclosed  in  the  steamer  trip  over  Puget  Sound  to  Vic- 


122  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

toria,  and  later  to  Vancouver.  Few  bodies  of  water  in 
the  world  are  so  ideal  for  voyaging,  for,  sheltered  as  it  is, 
it  is  peaceful  as  a  lake,  and  its  shores  are  of  exquisite 
beauty.  Coming  into  the  Canadian  cities  there  came  the 
realization  of  the  fact  that  we  were  in  a  foreign  land, 
and  at  this  time  a  land  involved,  though  so  far  away, 
in  the  European  War.  And  from  then  on  until  the 
return  to  our  own  country,  there  were  evidences,  in  the 
guarded  bridges  and  the  presence  of  soldiers,  of  the  far- 
reaching  influences  of  the  awful  conflict.  But  the 
"world  was  ours,"  and  through  the  parks,  among  the 
giant  trees,  and  the  streets  of  commercial  enterprise 
we  were  taken,  and  then,  at  the  strange  hour  of  16 :  45, 
for  so  do  they  measure  time  in  this  foreign  land,  the 
faces  of  the  Pilgrims  were  turned  at  last  towards  home. 

It  would  take  a  book,  rather  than  the  mere  postscript 
to  these  sketches,  to  t6ll  of  the  next  few  days  amid  the 
wonders  of  the  Canadian  Rockies.  One  thrilling  sur- 
prise follows  after  another,  with  no  perceptible  interval 
between,  as  the  train  rises  from  the  sea  level  up  into  the 
awe-inspiring  heights  where  one  feels  like  a  midget 
among  the  Titans  who  might  have  been  homed  among 
those  majestic  peaks  and  glittering  glaciers. 

Out  of  the  confusion  of  abundance  of  scenic  marvels 
there  rise  a  few  names  about  which  centers  the  memory 
of  any  who  pass  through  this  region.  It  was  Sunday  in 
Glacier,  surrounded  by  towering  peaks  among  which 
strolling  parties  wandered  through  the  afternoon,  and  it 
was.  not  only  fitting,  but  quite  inevitable,  that  there 
should  be  suggested  a  service  in  the  evening,  which  was 
held  in  the  parlor  of  the  hotel,  the  Rev.  ]\Ir.  Ayres  speak- 
ing for  our  people.  Another  illustration  of  how  closely 
we  adhered  to  our  purpose  to  make  this  a  religious  pil- 


THE  JOURNEY  I  DID  NOT  TAKE 


123 


grimage;  while  having  all  the  joys  of  an  everyday  ex- 
cursion it  was  enriched  by  a  distinctly  religious  purpose, 
and  our  people  were  true  to  the  purpose. 

Lake  Louise  and  Banff  afforded  our  pilgrims  an  op- 
portunity to  really  get  out,  through  horseback  trails  and 
in  conveyances  and  on  foot,  into  the  very  life  of  the 
Lake  Among  the  Clouds,  and  the  real  glaciers,  and  all 


PORTLAND,   OREGON,   CHURCH  AND  PASTOR 

the  glories  of  the  Canadian  National  Park.  It  was  here 
that  the  Great  Divide  was  crossed,  and  the  plunge  down 
and  across  the  long  plains  took  the  train  again  across 
the  border  into  the  States,  and  then,  just  to  renew  the 
sense  of  home,  the  people  of  our  churches  in  Minneapolis 
received  us  with  gracious  courtesy,  and  sent  us  on  to- 
wards the  rising  sun,  and  our  homes,  with  hearts  full 
of  happiness. 

And  all  the  while  this  group  of  pilgrims  was  enjoying 
the  marvels  of  the  North,  another  group  had  been  seeing 
other,  and,  they  insist,  greater  wonders,  of  our  own  Na- 


124  A  CALIFORNIA  PILGRIMAGE 

tional  Yellowstone  Park,  where  days  were  spent  amid  the 
strange  freaks  and  beauties  of  nature,  and  yet  another 
group  was  exploring  the  Colorado  Rockies,  and  carry- 
ing out  the  spirit  of  the  Pilgrimage  by  holding  services 
in  our  churches  in  Colorado  Springs  and  Denver. 

So  ends  the  story  for  those  who  read,  but  for  those  who 
lived  it  it  will  never  end,  and  for  our  Church  it  marks 
an  era,  when  we  found  ourselves, — discovered  our  possi- 
bilities, and  swung  open  the  doors  to  a  larger  future. 


THE   END 


A     000  107  679     3 


